DigimonEXE 3
by Wolf-ODonnell
Summary: Sequel to Digimon2.EXE. The Digital World is now more infested with computer viruses than ever before, but there are other things on the minds of Takato and friends e.g. the World DigiBattle Championships and its huge cash prize!
1. Prologue

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

P.S. This will be my very last piece of Digimon work ever. My Digimon fanfics were meant to show up the authors of the genre, coz each Digimon fanfic I came across was completely awful. It was only meant to be a temporary and I intended only to produce the one fanfic, but I had so much fun I got carried away. Anyway, this will be my very last Digimon fanfic and to cap it off, I'll be letting fans of the Digimon.EXE Series to take over.

The ones that can show me that they can write of a good quality and still maintain other people's interests will be given a Digimon.EXE Timeline and guidelines as to how the Digimon.EXE Universe works and what it looks like. They will then be given full creative control over the series (as long as they mention I came up with the idea first). So e-mail me samples of your work and if you make the cut, you will be the next Digimon.EXE author. The position is only open to one person, so get writing!

* * * * *

Log In!  
_Generations ago, a meteorite struck the Earth and caused a great disaster that befell all those that lived on the planet. Countless died and the environment was wrecked beyond belief. It took several years and plenty of hard work to return the Earth to normal. To prevent further incidents, nations of the Earth banded together and built the Orbital Space Ring. It was a gigantic ring-shaped space station built around the Earth and designed to spot further meteorites and destroy them before they reach the planet._

_With the expansion of technology that followed after, the Digital Age was created. Everyone now carries a portable exploration device called a D-Tector. This mobile phone-like devices act as advanced portable digital assistants. Using it, you can make phone calls, send and receive e-mails, keep a calendar, store data, shop online and check news from around the Earth Sphere (the Earth and the Space Ring). These D-Tectors have become so convenient and useful that they have become essential for everday life!_

_Every D-Tector has a program installed into it called a Digitally Integrated General Information Manager and Online Navigator or DIGIMON for short. By customing your D-Tector's Digimon program, you can give it a unique personality and even talk to it and befriend it._

_Yet the Digital World or Internet, is a very dangerous place, filled with computer viruses. To protect their D-Tectors, people had begun installing DigiModify Chips- special chips encoded with battle programs called DigiModify Data or DMDs for short. When a DMD is installed, a D-Tector is then armed to fight off viruses and hackers in battles known simply as DigiBattles. It is such an important process, that is even taught in schools._

_Year PA175- the Hypnos Incident:  
Hypnos, a secret terrorist organisation, stole several Programs in the hopes of creating a Super Digimon. However, their Leader, Dr. Mitsuo Yamaki, had duped the members of Hypnos and they were in fact creating a Super Computer Virus to hi-jack the world's military computers and start a doomsday war. Thanks to the heroic deeds of a boy, Takato Matsuda, and his friends, Hypnos was thwarted. Yamaki disappeared soon after the Hypnos Base was destroyed.  
(You can read about the events of the Hypnos Incident in the fanfic, Digimon.EXE, found as DigimonEXE in Fanfiction.Net due to title restrictions)._

_Year PA176- the Dragon Syndicate Incident:  
After Hypnos was defeated, the Four Crime Syndicates grew in power. The Blue Dragon Syndicate grew even more so than the others and plotted to carry out the dream of creating a Super Digimon with which to conquer the Digital World or Internet. Thanks to Takato and his Digimon, Guilmon, risking everything, including their lives, the Dragon Syndicate was destroyed and world peace returned.  
(The events of this incident can be read about in the fanfic, Digimon(2).EXE, which can be found as Digimon2EXE in Fanfiction.Net due to really rubbish title restrictions)._

_The Year is now Post Apocalypse 177. A year has passed since the defeat of the DigiMafia Organisation, the Blue Dragon Crime Syndicate. However, all is not well. Recent virus activities have increased unexplainably, making the Digital World even more dangerous than usual, even to veterans of DigiBattles such as Takato Matsuda and Jenrya Lee._

_How is the world going to survive this new and mysterious onslaught? No one is sure... not even the Officials, an organisation that works with the UN in ensuring that the Digital World is a safe place and that the Beijing Convention on Internet Rights is upheld. With no answers and no immediate solution, the world is slowly descending into chaos..._

    _The Sky is Darkening,  
The Rain is pouring down  
And it is washing all our Dreams away.  
The sirens are wailing,  
The People are hiding.  
Seems like we won't see another day._

    _Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? What can we do now?  
Time's far too short. We've got to make our move now._

    _I can't hold on, but I definitely won't let go.  
Passion burns brightly in my heart for all to see.  
I can't go on, but I definitely won't stop now.  
Close my eyes and find the courage within me._

    _I know what I must do now — Open my heart._

    _Mistakes made in the Past  
Have come back to haunt us  
And kill the hopes for our future.  
The Beast may be real strong  
But we cannot be wrong  
If we all stand up against it._

    _You're like me. I'm like you. We're the same and we all have our own dreams.  
But time's far too short. So we've got to make our move now._

    _I can't hold on, but I definitely won't let go.  
Passion burns brightly in my heart for all to see.  
I can't go on, but I definitely won't stop now.  
Close my eyes and find the courage within me._

    _There's one thing I must do now — Open my heart._

    _We all share this world, but we all want it to ourselves.  
Hopes and dreams will die if we don't start getting along._

    _I can't hold on, but I definitely won't let go.  
Passion burns brightly in my heart for all to see.  
I can't go on, but I definitely won't stop now.  
Close my eyes and see the path in front of me._

    _I can't hold on, but I definitely won't let go.  
Passion burns brightly in my heart for all to see.  
I can't go on, but I definitely won't stop now.  
Close my eyes and find the courage within me._

    _I know what I must do now — Open my heart._

**_To be continued..._**


	2. File 01: Biggest Dreamer

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE 3 is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Please read and review.

* * * * *

File 01: Biggest Dreamer  
    The two faced each other, not looking down at the arena between them. One of them was a brown-haired youth with a green cap and a black shirt. The other was a female with auburn hair and a short-sleeved T-shirt with green sleeves and a broken heart symbol on the front. She had fingers hovering over a control panel to which her D-Tector was connected and her eyes were on the large area in front of her.  
    It was three tiles wide and six tiles long. Each tile was 0.7 metres by 0.7 metres and the nine nearest to Ruki were red, while the nine nearest to her opponent were blue. This was the battle arena and on it were holographic images of their Digimon and the battle going on between them.  
    This was the Battle Arena for the Inphynitio DigiBattle Championships, a competition that was being held by the world famous computer company, ShibuCorp. Technically, ShibuCorp was sponsoring the competition, but they had paid for and provided almost all the equipment.  
    The holographic image of Renamon ran straight towards the edge of where the red tiles and blue tiles met. Her opponent, a human-shaped Digimon by the name of Andromon, opened fire. A rocket was sent flying straight towards Renamon's side.  
    She leapt sideways quickly, letting it smash into the floor, and leapt into the air and on to the tile right in front of Andromon, just as Ruki loaded a DMD and activated it, DigiModifying Renamon. The Digimon's right fist became metallic and Renamon flung a punch at Andromon, sending the tall cyborg Digimon reeling backwards.  
    An algorithm kicked in and Renamon was suddenly pulled back on to her side of the arena. The rules were simple. Neither Digimon were allowed to step into their opponent's section, unless they claim it for their own by turning the tiles to their colour or if they're moving into attack. Unfortunately, for Renamon, she could only stay within her opponent's section for a limited time before a program algorithm kicked in and dragged her back on to her side.  
    "DigiModify– Area Steal activate!"  
    The front row of red tiles suddenly became blue, reducing the space in which Renamon could move. The fox Digimon saw Andromon swing his metallic arm, sending a crescent wave of light green energy straight at her. She leapt right over the energy attack and in mid-air she crossed her arms. Renamon spread her arms and let rip with a storm of sharp crystal shards that managed to wound her opponent.  
    Andromon ran up to the edge of his area and swung a metallic fist straight at Renamon, hitting the fox Digimon and sending her flying back.  
    Ruki glared down at her control panel and the loaded DMDs that were available to her. There were a couple of DMDs available to her, but she had to choose a wise combination of them. If she chose the right DMDs and activated them in the right order, she would be able to activate a glitch that merged the DMDs into one more powerful DMD. This was called a Combo, which disguised the fact that it was a mistake generated by a highly incompetenent computer programmer.  
"Okay, Renamon, let's do this as we rehearsed," she called out to her Digimon. "Plan 25A!" She reached out and selected a DMD. "DigiModify– Area Revolve activate!"  
    Three spheres of golden energy flew up from the blues tiles that used to be red and crashed into Andromon, sending him flying to the back of his area. You see, the Area Revolve DMD reversed any changes made to the layout of the battle arena and wounded the Digimon whose Operator made those changes. The amount of damage increased with the number of tiles changed and this gave Renamon an advantage.  
    "Ha! You think that can stop me and Andromon?" shouted Ruki's opponent from the other side of the DigiBattle Arena. "DigiModify– Giga Heal activate!"  
    A beam of light bathed Andromon and suddenly he recovered 300HP.  
    Renamon growled angrily at that move. All Digimon (and even viruses) had HP, which was a measure of the Digimon's stamina. If the HP was allowed to reach to zero, then the Digimon (or virus) would end up being deleted, which was why all DigiBattlers were required to make back-up copies of their Digimon and leave it with the Match Officials.  
"That's not going to do you any good, pal!" shouted Renamon, as she ran along the path and leapt over the boundary between her area and her opponent's area.  
    "DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate! DigiModify– Heavy Punch activate! DigiModify– Desolation Claw activate!" The three DMDs merged together to form one special Combo. "DigiModify– Multi Punch activate!"  
    Renamon lowered her two hands and aimed them at Andromon. Both turned into metallic fists like that of a horribly built robot.  
"Time for a knuckle sandwich!" cried out Renamon, before she fired metallic fist after metallic fist rapidly at Andromon. She didn't relent, not giving Andromon a break.  
    Ruki's opponent didn't let up. He searched his control panel for a DMD and soon a smile spread across his face.  
"Ha! All right!" he cried out. "DigiModify– Floor1 activate!" In activating that DMD, all the tiles on both the red and blue areas cracked, or at least, appeared to crack. "DigiModify– Ground Repair activate!"  
    Andromon's side of the battle area was suddenly repaired by the DMD. He was free to move around on his area, but Renamon wasn't.  
    Suddenly, Renamon's Combo wore off and she found herself in a sticky situation. Andromon fired. She leapt out of the way and in doing so, the cracked panel she had stood on broke and disappeared. This was a holographic illusion of what was really happening within the computer system in which Renamon was fighting in. In her Digital World, the panel had actually cracked. In the Real World, the large panel that represented it, only looked as if it had cracked.  
    "DigiModify– Hover activate!" announced Ruki, as she loaded her DMD.  
    Renamon suddenly found herself floating above the floor. A smile spread across her furry muzzle. This would give her the advantage she would sorely need. She crossed her arms and charged up her attack, before spreading her arms and sending a shower of crystal shards towards her opponent.  
    "DigiModify– EarthBarrier activate!"  
    An EarthBarrier? Renamon had heard of those. They could only be obtained by absorbing the data from CyberPrismG viruses that lived in the DarkNet. EarthBarriers were the strongest of all the Barrier DMDs, with the weakest being AquaBarrier.  
"Ruki, it's no use!" she protested, upon seeing her attack crash against the EarthBarrier. "We need a hard-hitting wood-style attack!"  
    "Watch out!" someone called out from the crowd. It was too late, as one of Andromon's attacks hit Renamon.  
    Ruki couldn't believe it. She just stared at the words on the screen in front of her that said, 'Renamon deleted', in capital letters. Ruki couldn't believe she had lost. The auburn-haired girl had seen plenty of EarthBarriers before and she had managed to defeat the Operators that used them on their Digimon. So how was it that she had lost this battle? Was it due to arrogance and complacency?  
    She sighed and shook her head. This just simply wasn't her day. A thought went through her mind. How was Takato doing in the arena next door?  


    The holographic image of Guilmon stood to the right column of his area, looking to his opponent whom was two squares from him. His opponent happened to be an aqua-style Digimon and there was a rule that stated that all aqua-style attacks did double damage against fire-style Digimon like Guilmon.  
    Behind the holographic image of Guilmon was his Operator, Takato Matsuda. The brown-haired youth had his reddish-brown eyes focused on the screen in front of him. Though his D-Tector held 30 DMDs, most of which were pretty useful, the D-Tectors had a useless DMD selection program. During battle, only 10 of these were selectable, however, and only a maximum of 5 could be used at one time.  
    'Alternatively', thought Takato, 'I could replace five of the DMDs, but that would take some time'. The strategies were all open to him.  
"Guilmon, keep Shellmon on the run!" he called out to his Digimon. "I'm going to replace some DMDs." He pressed a button on the large control panel to his side and then waited for the computer to randomly pick some DMDs from his D-Tector. Takato kept his fingers crossed, as he watched Guilmon run across his arena.  
    "Easier said than done!" called out Guilmon, as he leapt over a huge Hydro Blaster attack.  
    Takato began to wish he had taken Ruki's advice and actually paid attention to who he was up against. If Takato had only done a little bit of homework, he would have known his opponent had an aqua-style Digimon. He could have then changed Guilmon from a fire-style to an electric-style Digimon. The brown-haired youth glanced down at the computer screen and saw the gauge slowly filling up.  
    As Guilmon dodged Shellmon's attacks, Takato kept his gaze down at the screen, waiting for the moment that the DMDs would become available again. He glanced up at the corner of the screen and saw a number that stated how much HP Guilmon had left. Only 91HP? That wasn't good.  
"Come on," he muttered, as his Digimon dodged attack after attack. Takato kept his eye on the gauge and saw it creep upwards. It was nearly full. "Come on."  
    The gauge started flashing in front of him.  
"Yes!" cried Takato, as he reached out and pressed a button. Five of the DMDs had been replaced with his hard-hitting ones. A smile spread across his face, as he looked up at his opponent. "Guilmon, get ready for a Combo." He selected one DMD and then prepared to select a few more DMDs in a special order. "DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate!"  
    Guilmon felt a surge of energy flow through his body. To the dinosaur Digimon, it seemed as if Shellmon had slowed down, when in reality it was him that had sped up. He fired a few fireballs straight at his opponent, searing Shellmon's exterior with his fiery Pyro Spheres.  
    "DigiModify– Shogun Sword activate," announced Takato. "DigiModify– Trump Sword activate. DigiModify– Duality activate."  
    The three DMDs would have appeared in Guilmon's right claw one after another, were it not for a glitch in the battle programs. The two Sword DMDs began to merge into one gigantic sword, while the third DMD took on a life of its own. Guilmon split into two Digimon and his second counterpart turned into Leomon.  
    "DigiModify– Double Hero activate!"  
    Guilmon and Leomon rushed in to attack Shellmon. While Guilmon fired flaming spheres of burning fire, Leomon slashed away at Shellmon with his gigantic sword. Between the two Digimon, they managed to slash Shellmon's HP down to 40, before the Leomon disappeared as if he had never been there.  
    This was a boon to Takato. Guilmon was a virus-type Digimon and their attack power was known to be more powerful than those of the data-type or vaccine type Digimon. In fact, Takato knew that every one of Guilmon's attacks wiped 10HP off a Digimon or viruses total HP. Though Takato wasn't that good at mental arithmetic, he was sure that only a few more hits from Guilmon would win the match.  
    "Do you really think that I'd let myself lose that easily?" asked Takato's opponent. "DigiModify– Super Heal!" A smug expression spread across the green-haired opponent, as Shellmon recovered 100HP. "That's not all," he boasted to Takato. "I know a pretty decent Combo myself. DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate! DigiModify– Heavy Punch activate! DigiModify– Desolation Claw activate!"  
    Takato suddenly realised what Combo his opponent was attempting to create. It was called the Multi Punch Combo and was pretty devestating. He searched through the 10 DMDs he had available. Was there something he could use to counter the Multi Punch Combo?  
    "DigiModify– Multi Punch activate!"  
    Guilmon saw a fist appear on Shellmon and suddenly realised what his opponent was attempting. The only thing he could do now was to brace the Multi Punch Combo, which would surely delete him, or to hope that Takato had a counter-attack that could prevent his opponent from using the Multi-Punch Combo. He suddenly saw a multiple of fists heading his way.  
    "DigiModify– Leaf Shield activate!"  
    One of the fists hit Guilmon, knocking him backwards and knocking his HP down to 11. A second fist hit him seconds after that and then another and then another. In total, he was hit by six of them in such rapid succession and with such force that Guilmon thought he was being pumped full of lead with a machine gun.  
    The Digimon had expected himself to have been deleted, but when he opened his eyes, he found himself intact. What had just happened?  
    "What? How is this possible?" cried Takato's opponent.  
    There was a smug smile on Takato's face, as he looked down at Guilmon's HP. 480HP had been recovered, so Guilmon now had 491HP, far more than Shellmon.  
"It's something called a Leaf Shield," he told his opponent. "It absorbs an attack, recovers the exact same amount of HP that would have been lost if it hadn't been used, and then disappears." He was glad that it had been loaded on to his DMD when he last replaced the selectable DMDs.  
    "Guilmon," called out Takato, "let's finish this!"  
    The red, scaly dinosaur Digimon nodded in reply.  
"Sure thing," he replied, before he lunged straight at Shellmon. He spat out Pyro Sphere after Pyro Sphere, reducing Shellmon's HP by 10 with every successful hit.  
    Shellmon inhaled and spat out a gust of water straight at Guilmon, which struck the fire-style Digimon and reduced Guilmon's HP by 10 HP as well. The aqua-style Digimon lashed out at Guilmon again, only for the dinosaur Digimon to leap out of the way.  
    "All right!" cried Takato, as he saw a DMD in his selection screen. "DigiModify– Hyper Cannon activate!"  
    Guilmon pointed his right arm straight at Shellmon. It became a cannon and he opened fire once before the cannon disappeared. He heard Shellmon cry out in pain and then disintegrate into tiny bits of digital data that dispersed into the air.  
    A roar came up from the crowd. It was the biggest cheer that Takato had ever received and he felt himself going red in the cheeks from the collective praise he was receiving. He couldn't believe that he managed to win his second-to-last battle in the Championships. If he continued this winning streak, he would be able to win the Inphynitio Championships and possibly go into the World DigiBattle Championships at Toronto, North America.  
    "Good job, Guilmon," Takato told his Digimon. "You were great."  
    "Thanks," replied Guilmon. "Thanks for using the Leaf Shield by the way."  
    "Oh, it was nothing," said Takato as modestly as was possible for a guy that had just got through into the finals. He logged Guilmon out of the DigiBattle Arena and then unplugged his D-Tector. It was like a mobile-phone with a flip-top lip and on the bottom-side of the lid was a screen, which Guilmon's face had suddenly appeared on. Takato closed the lid and pocketed his D-Tector, before he walked over towards his opponent.  
    His green-haired opponent had done the same thing. They met halfway and Takato extended his hand.  
"Good game," he told his opponent. "You really had me breaking a sweat back there."  
    "Thanks," thanked Takato's green-haired opponent. He had a smile on his face. "I'll win next time."  


    Ruki watched Takato from the back of the stadium with a smile on her face. Well, she could have expected no less from the youth that destroyed the Juggernaut Virus and had defeated a Crime Syndicate's world domination plans. Takato was more than you average youth. He was talented in DigiBattles and over the years, he had managed to surpass even her. She hated that.  
    The auburn-haired girl made her way back to a vending machine she had seen earlier on. She was parched and Ruki decided on having a soda to remedy that situation.  
"What? Out of order?" she exclaimed in disbelief.   
    "Yeah, pretty much all of them've been out of order."  
    Ruki whirled round and saw a brown-haired youth standing not too far from her. She recognised him as Hirokazu Shioda, a reformed member of the old Hypnos Terrorist Organisation and the youth that had defeated her in DigiBattle not too long ago.  
"What are you doing here?" she asked Hirokazu bitterly. "Here to gloat over your victory?"  
    Hirokazu lifted his green cap in a meaningless way.  
"No," he replied with a shake of his head. "I'm here for the same reason you are– to get a drink." He laughed at that comment. "You'd think that a stadium like this would actually maintain working vending machines."  
    "What do you mean?"  
    "None of them are working," replied Hirokazu quickly. "In fact, not a single vending machine in this entire stadium has any drinks in it and the vendors are starting to run out too." He looked back at the rapidly diminishing crowd in the stadium seats. "Wouldn't surprise me if they all upped and left," he said, gesturing out towards the spectators. "I mean, who would stick around if there's nothing to quench their thirst? It is kind of hot in here, after all."  
    Hirokazu sighed.  
"It's really shoddy," he said with a shake of his head. "Well, I've got to go and get myself ready for the finals." He winked at her, before he made his way back down the corridor in the direction of the changing rooms where he had stashed his DMDs.  
    "Something doesn't feel right," stated Renamon, her voice coming from Ruki's D-Tector.  
    "Don't be so paranoid," Ruki told her Digimon, before she walked off and down towards the crowd. Perhaps she could sit amongst them and watch the rest of the Championships.

**_To be continued..._**


	3. File 02: Butterfly

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome. The lyrics featured in this chapter are original and copyrighted by me. Don't ask me what the song's called though, coz I haven't decided on a name yet.

* * * * *

File 02: Butterfly  
    Takato was feeling a bit parched, but it seemed as if the entire stadium didn't have a single drop of water anywhere. He was so thirsty, he was even contemplating licking his own sweat in an attempt to get some water to quench his thirst. An even naughtier idea suddenly entered his mind, but he soon realised that it was highly unfeasible and probably wouldn't quench his thirst anyway.  
    "Say, Guilmon, you have any idea what DMDs I should load?" asked Takato, as he sat on the bench in the changing rooms. Behind him was the locker that he had stashed his rucksack full of DMDs in, but they weren't to be of any use to him. All participants in the Championships had to use only official DMDs. "How's about some hard-hitting attack DMDs or maybe some attribute-changing DMDs? What do you think?"  
    "I think you should stop talking," replied Guilmon concernedly. "What with this lack of water in the whole stadium, I don't think you should talk so much. You'd get thirsty."  
    Takato thought of all the DigiBattle fans that had rushed off to the men's rooms, as the taps there were the only place they could quench their thirst. If he wanted a drink, he would have to stand in line and there was no time for him to quench his thirst. Well, that was if he didn't have these changing rooms, which had been reserved for contestants only.  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied with a nod of his head. There was no use in getting thirsty.  


    Hirokazu looked around him. The place was rather deserted. Many of the fans had already left. It was just him, the referees and his opponent, Takato Matsuda. He looked down at the Battle Arena and at the holographic images of his opponent's Digimon and then at the holographic image of his Digimon, Andromon.  
    Takato was thinking carefully about the DMDs on the computer screen in front of him. There didn't seem to be any good ones available, or at least, none that he could combine into a good Combo. He glanced upwards towards the clock. There were only five more seconds available to him before they had to start. Takato selected a few DMDs, and then chose the 'Add' option, which would replace the selected DMDs with more DMDs.  
    Andromon was the first to make his move. He swung his arm in an arc in front of him, creating a Lightning Wave that flew at his opponent.  
    Guilmon leapt straight out of the way of the attack. He inhaled sharply and spat a fiery sphere of flames at Andromon. They did nothing. That wasn't good.  
    "DigiModify– RowGrab activate!"  
    A row of light smashed on to Guilmon's row of red tiles closest to Andromon's rows. They suddenly turned blue.  
    "Lightning Wave!" cried out Andromon, as he swung his arm in an arc in front of him, causing a wave of energy to fly through the air towards Guilmon.  
    Guilmon leapt out of the way of the attack, but found his movement restricted. He saw Andromon rush to the edge of his area and then swing his arm in an arc at him. Guilmon was unable to get out of the way in time and was hit by Andromon's metallic arm. The virus-type Digimon staggered sideways, but Andromon stepped sideways and swung again. This time, Guilmon manmaged to leap out of the way. He swung his own claws sideways, scraping past Andromon's exposed flesh.  
    Andromon cried out and backed off.  
    "Way to go, Guilmon!" cheered Takato. He checked the DMD Gauge to see where it had got to. Only half full. He looked and saw Andromon's HP was higher than that of Guilmon's. It was an unfair advantage that wasn't covered in the Championship Rules. "Hang on in there, the new DMDs are still loading!"  
    "Hey, those DMDs won't do you any good, Takato," called out Hirokazu from the other side of the arena. "Andromon, show him!"  
    "Right, boss," agreed Andromon. He disappeared from his side and appeared right in front of Guilmon. "Gatling Punch!" The cyborg Digimon's fists became a flurry, as he punched repeatedly at Guilmon.  
    Guilmon stepped onto the back row, knowing that Andromon's punches couldn't reach him there.  
"Ha! Can't touch me!" he taunted, before inhaling sharply. "Pyro Sphere!" He spat out a sphere of fire that smashed into Andromon, sending the cyborg Digimon flying backwards.  
    "Hey, Andromon, try this one!" cried out Hirokazu. "DigiModify– Bubbler activate! DigiModify– Bubl-V activate! DigiModify– Bubl-X activate!" He watched as the three DMDs merged into one more powerful DMD. "All right! DigiModify– BublBomb activate!"  
    Takato watched in horror as Andromon's arm turned into a cannon. He knew about the BublBomb Combo. Takato remembered using it once when his house's water-heater had been infected with computer viruses. The BublBomb Combo was really effective against sandy viruses and fire-style viruses and Digimon.  
    He glanced down at the DMD gauge. It was nearly full.  
"Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath. Too late. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Andromon fire a BublBomb into Guilmon's arena. It exploded, covering the red area with bubbles. The gauge was suddenly full. Takato quickly pressed a button and looked at the available DMDs. "Oh, yes!" he cried and selected a few of them.  
    "DigiModify– Area Revolve activate!" announced Takato, as he activated the DMD. He watched as the stolen row of panels suddenly turned red again, and three spheres of light hit Andromon, taking 40HP each. "DigiModify– EarthBarrier activate!" That would buy his Digimon enough time until he could build up the powerful UltraSword Combo, which he knew was possible using the DMDs the Championship Officials had provided him.  
    "Oh, please, is that the best you can do?" cried Hirokazu. "I've got a DMD here that can take your EarthBarrier down in an instant! DigiModify– Bamboo Sword activate!"  
    Andromon's right arm suddenly turned into a sword made out of bamboo staves, like the sort used for Kendo practice. The Digimon then rushed acorss the arena and swung his Bamboo Sword straight at Guilmon.  
    Though it didn't hurt the fire-style Digimon, it did nullify the EarthBarrier. Guilmon stepped back and spat a Pyro Sphere back at Andromon, which the cyborg Digimon carefully dodged. He tried again, but missed again. That was when he saw Andromon leap up into the air and then smash into the ground in front of him, sending a wave of energy through the floor towards him. Guilmon barely managed to leap out of the way in time.  
    Takato saw that the shock of the punch had caused the entire column to crack. If Guilmon stepped on them again, they would surely be broken.  
"Hold on, Guilmon!" called out Takato. "It won't be much longer now!"  
    "That's what you said a few minutes ago!" protested Guilmon, as he dodged a well-aimed punch. "Hurry up!" He inhaled sharply and spat out another Pyro Sphere and this one hit Andromon squarely in the chest. Perfect!  
    "Gatling Attack!" roared Andromon, before he opened fire on Guilmon.  
    Bullets sprayed towards Guilmon as if they were being fired from a machine gun. It looked suspiciously like they were being sprayed from a machine gun too. Guilmon quickly dodged the bullets, running round in circles around his own area to avoid being caught by the gunfire. He didn't even have time to counterattack.  
    "Got it!" cried Takato. "DigiModify– Sword activate! DigiModify– KnightSword activate! DigiModify– HeroSword activate!" He watched as the three DMDs merged together to form the powerful UltraSword Combo. "DigiModify– UltraSword activate!"  
    Guilmon's right arm turned into a powerful, pulsing sword that glowed with a bright golden aura. It was as if it was made out of the energy from the Sun. He rushed forwards and swung the UltraSword at Andromon, cutting through into the opponent Digimon and slashing 600 HP away from Andromon. That left Andromon with 214 HP, which was coincidentally, what Guilmon had left.  
    The virus-type Digimon began thinking over what he could do next to reduce Andromon's HP down to zero. Guilmon leapt sideways, narrowly avoiding being hit by a Lightning Wave attack. He countered with a Pyro Sphere, but it missed.  
    "Yeah, I've got it!" cried Hirokazu. He then began selecting DMDs carefully, creating a powerful Combo he had seen hidden among the DMDs he had been given by the Championship Organisers. "Try this Combo for size! MultiSteal!"  
    Rays of light struck the panels that made up Guilmon's area. Each one that was struck became blue and the front two rows of Guilmon's area was suddenly taken that way, leaving only back three panels for Guilmon. The Digimon was now hemmed in, whereas Andromon wasn't.  
    Andromon fired several Lightning Waves at Guilmon, which the virus-type Digimon was able to dodge skilfully. That was it. Andromon had had enough. He launched one Lightning Wave at Guilmon and saw the fire-style Digimon leap out of the way. The cyborg Digimon then leapt to his front row and flung a fist at Guilmon, as the Digimon leapt out of the way of the Lightning Wave attack.  
    "Gatling Attack!" cried Andromon, as he leapt back and opened fire on Guilmon.  
    Some of the bullets hit Guilmon, making him fall over to the ground of the Battle Arena. He was wounded and his HP had been reduced dramatically by Andromon's onslaught.  
"Takato!" he called out to his Operator. "Help!"  
    "Hold on, Guilmon!" replied Takato, as he frantically searched the DMDs that had now been loaded. "Try this one! DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate! DigiModify– Heavy Punch activate! DigiModify– Desolation Claw activate!" The three DMDs merged together to form one special Combo. "DigiModify– Hyper Punch activate!"  
    Guilmon whirled round. His claws became metallic fists. He then began punching the air and sent several metallic fists flying through the air like rockets. Each one hit Andromon fiercely, sending the Digimon flying back to the back of his area. The virus-type Digimon didn't relent, he kept on punching until the Combo wore out. There was suddenly a flash and Andromon disappeared from the arena.  
    "Yes, we did it!" cried Takato joyously, as he leapt into the air.  
    What little of the crowd was left cheered. Takato had won the battle. He had won the Championships and was now on to the International Championships! A burst of pride overcame Takato. He had never got so far in a contest like this before. Perhaps all that experience fighting against Hypnos and the Dragon Syndicate had proved useful after all.  
    Hirokazu had disconnected his D-Tector and had walked straight over towards Takato. He extended a hand out towards the brown-haired youth.  
"Good fight," he commented.  
    "Thanks," exclaimed Takato, as he shook Hirokazu's hand. "You weren't that bad yourself. You certainly made me break out a sweat."  
    "Hey, I'm a good challenge for anybody," stated Hirokazu with a grin on his face. "Next time, I'll win."  
    "Next time?" exclaimed Takato in surprise. "Yeah, I'd like that. Then we'd be able to use the DMDs we've got. I'm telling you, I've got a real mean Combo that'll wipe the floor with your Digimon's butt."  
    "Yeah, so have I," retorted Hirokazu.  


    "Isn't that swell folks?" commented Rosa, a News Reporter for DNN, the Digital News Network. "Good sports to the end."  
    Jenrya Lee smiled, as he turned his attention away from the TV screen and towards the new program he had installed in his D-Tector. It would help him customise his Digimon further and give Rapidmon an edge.  
"I knew Takato would win," he told his Digimon. "It's not as if he hadn't been practising." He couldn't wait until the World Championships, where he would have the chance to compete against Takato and other Digimon Operators from around the world.  
    "Yeah, but still, he barely won," commented Rapidmon with a tone of seriousness to his voice. "You ever notice that he only just manages to win a fight? That's not good form."  
    The dark-haired youth sighed.  
"Nor's the way you fight, Rapidmon," he told his Digimon. "You go in all guns blazing and you don't even think about how you fight. I have to do all the thinking for you." Jenrya thought about how many times he had saved Rapidmon's butt with a well-thought out game plan. He had lost count. "If it weren't for me, Rapidmon, you'd be deleted the moment you set foot in a fight."  
    He then selected the 'run' command and let the program do its job.  
"There, finished!" exclaimed Jenrya. "Now, what do you say we go log on to the Digital World and find us some choice DMDs?"  
    "Okay, so, it's the DarkNet, is it?" asked Rapidmon.   
    "No way," protested Jenrya. "You have any idea how bad the DarkNet's gotten since the fall of the Dragon Syndicate?" He shivered at the thought of it. Even the usual residents of the DarkNet, criminal scum that needed no introduction, were afraid to even set foot there. "We're going to AsiaNet. They've got some really powerful viruses in D6. If we delete them, we can get some really good DMDs."  
    "AsiaNet?" exclaimed Rapidmon. "Oh, okay, then. Log me in and let's do this!"  
    The image on the television screen changed to that of a different news reporter from Rosa.  
"The Orbital Space Ring is suffering from a water crisis," announced the news reporter. "All over, vending machines have been emptied and shops stripped of all known beverages. No one knows as to when the drinks were removed, yet shop keepers have told us that it will take up to a week for more to arrive. As of now, citizens have been drinking water directly from the tap..."  
    Jenrya frowned. A water crisis? He turned into the kitchen area and opened the fridge, examining its contents. There wasn't much left. One can of coke and a pack of really ancient beer that his father used to drink. He pulled it out and took a look at the expiry date.  
"Sheesh, this stuff's been in the fridge for years," he commented.  
    The youth went over to the fridge and emptied the contents out into the sink. It was not as if anybody else in the family was going to drink the stuff. His Dad was practically always at the Officials HQ, so he was almost never home to drink the stuff.  
    Throwing the cans away, Jenrya took out the last can of coke and closed the fridge door behind him.  
"Come on, then, Rapidmon," he said to his Digimon. "Let's log on to the Net."

* * * * *

    The Digital World is split into several layers and each layer is split up into several domains, with the exception of the Zerva layer. The highest layer contains the four Domains of the Orbital Space Ring– DyjiNet, InphyNet, PhyleNet and SpyroNet. Below that are the domains of the Earth's Digital World– AfriNet, ArabNet, AsiaNet, EuroNet, NANet the Domain of North America), SANet (the Domain of South America), and Zerva (an International Domain filled with links to every part of the Regular Digital World). Below all those Domains was the DarkNet.  
    This place was not a part of the regular DarkNet, however. It was far more threatening than even the DarkNet, with its criminal Digimon and strong viruses.  
    This was HypnosNet, the remnants of the Hypnos Terrorist Organisation's computer networks. Its paths were like metallic grilles, as were the platforms that made up its terminals. All this floated in a black sky that had multiple copies of the Hypnos Organisation's symbol floating in it like some kind of screensaver.  
    "Sir, everything is in order," announced a voice deep within the depths of HypnosNet. "We have already got the Black Tortoise Key in our possession. All that is left is to find the remaining three TetraKeys and we will be able to revive the Beast."  
    "Thank you, I can count you know," growled another voice angrily. "Is everything set for the next Operation?"  
    "Yes, sir," came the reply.  
    The second voice chuckled.  
"Good," it exclaimed. "Soon we will get what we need. The Officials won't know what hit them. The whole Digital Society won't know what hit them and when they do, it will be far too late!"

**_To be continued..._**


	4. File 03: Kaze ni Mukatte

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE 3 is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Please read and review.

* * * * *

File 03: Kaze ni Mukatte – (_Facing the Wind_)  
    Takato walked with Ruki to school. It was a quiet day and he heard none of the noises he was so used to hearing when walking to East Inphynitio School. Somehow, it seemed as if the whole world was muted. Usually, Ruki remained quiet and they walked together in silence with only the sounds of children's laughter and people talking to accompany them. Now there was nothing.  
    "Something's wrong," commented Renamon from Ruki's D-Tector. "It's quiet; far too quiet."  
    "Might have something to do with there being no water," replied Ruki quickly. She didn't want to talk about it. There wasn't a single drop of anything to drink in her house, and the taps were all dry. Her throat was parched, but she could do nothing to quench her thirst. "Couldn't wash or anything," she added and then left it at that.  
    There was silence from Takato. He too had nothing to drink all morning.  
"I hope it's temporary," he said and then left it at that. His throat was parched too. Takato hadn't found a single drop of water everywhere and now that he looked, he saw that quite a lot of people were taking it slowly. He began to wonder when the shops would be stocked with drinks and when the water would be back.  
    The rest of the trip was done in complete silence, but it wasn't long before they reached the gates of their school.  
    "The fountain's dried up!" exclaimed Ruki in disappointment. She had hoped to at least quench her thirst a little from the water there, but seeing it dried up brought despair.  
    "I guess there really is a big water shortage," commented Takato.  
    "What are you two doing here?" exclaimed a brown-haired teacher from not too far away.  
    "Ms. Asaji?"  
    The brown-haired teacher sighed as she walked up to them.  
"Didn't you two receive the e-mail?" she asked them. "School's cancelled today because of the water crisis. I suggest you go back home and don't move around too much. We have no idea when the water will be back and you might get dehydrated."  
    "Okay, Ms. Asaji," said Takato with a nod of his head. He bowed respectfully as a Japanese school kid would to a teacher, before he and Ruki made their way back. "So, what are you going to do now that school's cancelled?" he asked her, as he loosened his school tie.  
    Ruki just shrugged her shoulders in reply and then continued to walk. She had an idea though. It probably had something to do with that watermelon her Grandmother had imported from the greenhouses at Phyle. Her mouth watered at the thought of a cool, refreshing slice of watermelon. Ruki had to forcefully stop herself from thinking about it, as the thought of the watermelon was too much to bear.  
    That was when Ruki's D-Tector began to beep. She had just received a message. Ruki unhooked her D-Tector from her waistband and flipped the lid open. She sighed. It was the e-mail from school, telling her that school had been cancelled. She wanted to ask Renamon what the big idea was, but she was far too thirsty for that.  
    "Ruki, would you like to come round to my place?" suggested Takato, only to see Ruki shake her head in reply. "Oh, maybe another time, then." He felt dejected, more so than usual. "Well, er... see you later, then?" Takato received one nod in reply and then a goodbye wave. He waved back at Ruki, watching her disappear round the corner of the street to leave him alone. Well... not quite alone.  
    "So, you want to go home and surf the 'Net?" asked Guilmon. "Or do you think you should finish that homework that was supposed to be due in today?"  
    Takato had almost forgotten about that homework. It was supposed to be due in that day, but thanks to the cancellation...  
"Nah," replied Takato with a shake of his head. "I've got plenty of time. Let's go home and log on to the Digital World." He turned and then bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir," he apologised.  
    "That's okay," replied the thatch-blonde haired man with a smile on his bearded face. "Next time, you really should watch where you're going though." He then walked past Takato and made his way down the street towards Takato's school.  
    The brown-haired youth watched the man in the lurid yellow business suit walk down the road. Immaculately pressed black trousers and shined brown shoes, tie, clean shirt... the man looked as if he was going to an interview. 'Is he a new teacher?' wondered Takato. Then he shook his head and decided that the man couldn't have been. He turned back round and made his way back home.  
    It wasn't long before he reached the park. As he crossed through it, he couldn't help but notice that the pond was completely dried up. It made Takato wonder what was going on with the Orbital Space Ring's water supply. Was it deliberate sabotage or had something gone really, really wrong?  
    "I told you not to come out here and play!" shouted a rather cross woman from round about near the swings. "You'll get hot and sweaty and worse still, thirsty. Now get off those swings and come back home this instant!"  
    Takato began to feel for the children the woman was shouting at, but what she said did make sense in a slightly bizarre way. They had no idea when there the water would return and as far as he knew, the people down on Earth were doing their best to send emergency water supplies up to the Orbital Space Ring. Still, Takato couldn't help but feel that their best seemed rather like a half-arsed attempt than their best.  
    "Man, this water shortage sure is making people angry," commented Guilmon, as Takato continued on his way through the park. "Even Ruki was more angry than usual."  
    "Yeah," replied Takato abruptly and then he stopped it there. After all, there was no point in him getting thirsty.  
    It took Takato twice as long to get through the park, as he was taking it more slowly than he usually would. Upon emerging into the high street he soon saw the Electronics Shop that belonged to his parents and made his way there. He crossed the street, noticing that there were very few people out and about and walked round to the back entrance of the shop.  
"Tadaima!" he called out, as he kicked off his shoes at the entrance way.  
    "Oh, Takato, back so soon?" exclaimed his mother, Yoshi, as she poked her head round the door that led out to the front of the shop.  
    "Yeah, school was cancelled due to the water shortage," replied Takato with a nod of his head, as he slid off his black blazer.  
    "Well, it was smart of you to come back home," commented Takato's mother, as she turned back out of the door and made her way towards the counter. "What with the water shortage, I was afraid you'd go outside and play." She sighed and shook her head. "Now that you're here, though, I don't suppose you would mind doing a little errand for me?"  
    Takato was about to comment on how she wanted him not to go outside, but thought better of it. Ever since his father had started installing DMD Chip Traders around the Orbital Space Ring, minding the shop had been up to his mother and she had become very irritable recently whenever he failed to do things for her.  
"Sure thing," replied Takato with a nod.  
    "I want you to go to the Water Company HQ and file a complaint," continued Yoshi, as she searched the drawers underneath the counter. "Ah, here it is. Just go to Tento Town in Dyjitopia. It's in the High Street, so you shouldn't miss it."  
    "Okay, mom," said Takato with a nod of his head. He knew where Tento Town was. It was where Jenrya and Ryo lived. Perhaps he could stop by for a visit. "Say, mom, is it okay if I go visit Jenrya and Ryo while I'm there?"  
    "Uhm, on second thoughts, Takato, I think you should submit the complain online," stated Yoshi thoughtfully. "It is a long trip and you might work up a thirst."  
    Takato sighed.  
"Okay, mom," he agreed, before he turned and walked up the staircase to their apartment above the shop. He walked up the stairs, turned left and walked down the corridor into his room, where he proceeded to shed his school clothes for something more comfortable.  
    "Say, Guilmon, do you remember how to get to the DyjiNet Main Street?" asked Takato, as he put on a comfortable blue sweatshirt.  
    "I'm not really sure," came the reply.  
    "Well, I guess we can find how to get there together," stated Takato, as he picked up his D-Tector and plugged it into his computer. "Guilmon.EXE Log In!"

* * * * *

    A data stream fell down from the sky and struck the multi-coloured floor, before it disappeared to reveal Guilmon.  
    Guilmon looked around him and saw himself standing on a square floor that floated in the middle of a Digimon screensaver. He was in Takato's computer and not too far away from him, he saw the link that would take him out on to InphyNet, the part of the Digital World, otherwise known as a Domain, that was controlled by the Administrative Region of Inphynitio. The fire-style, virus-type Digimon ran straight for the link and was spirited away by another data stream.  
    This one took him to another link that was on a platform connected to several other platforms by several paths. The platform, correctly known as a terminal, was silver, as were the paths and this all floated in the midst of a black screensaver with ghostly 0s and 1s floating in it.  
    "Okay, shall I go straight to DyjiNet from here?" asked Guilmon.  
    "Nah, let's try out that new CyberMetro I heard so much about," came Takato's reply. "I heard it opened up near Ruki's homepage."  
    "Okay, then," agreed Guilmon with a nod of his head, before he ran down the silver path and took a left turn. He passed several other Digimon and a few Programs on his way down the path, giving them a wave as he ran past. They waved back.  
    The Digital World was always a friendly little place and nothing, not even the occasional viruses, could stop it from being that.  
    As the Digimon ran, he noticed that a few new firewalls had recently been installed at the entrances to some people's homepages. Guilmon reasoned that it had something to do with the recent increase in virus activity. He had no idea why so many viruses had begun popping up recently, but...  
    Without warning, bits of digital data began to congregate in front of Guilmon. They took the form of a gigantic hand wielding a sword. It floated eeriely towards Guilmon, before the hand swung the sword back, before swinging its sharp blade straight at the fire-style Digimon.  
    Guilmon ducked underneath it. He hated Sword Viruses, but he knew they were relatively weak compared to some of the other viruses he had fought before.  
"Pyro Sphere!" roared Guilmon, before he spat out a sphere of flames straight at the Sword Virus. He saw the virus shudder when the Pyro Sphere hit it. That meant only one thing. Direct hit! He rushed straight at the Sword, only for it to swing at him again.  
    The virus-type Digimon (virus-type meant that his offensive power was double that of a data-type or vaccine-type) leapt over the Sword's attack and swung his claws at it. Seconds later, he saw the virus shudder and break apart into bits of digital data to reveal a glowing data packet, which looked like a glowing sphere with 0s and 1s orbiting it like electrons.  
    "Let me guess, Guilmon," sighed Takato, "it's a Sword DMD."  
    "Nope," replied Guilmon with a shake of his head. "It's a BugFrag."  
    That was cyberslang for Bug Fragment, which was piece of a virus. Takato knew that and he knew what that meant.  
"Cool, now we've got enough BugFrags to buy that FishBait CustProgram from that BugFrag Trader," commented Takato. The CustProgram would allow him to modify Guilmon to give the Digimon extra attributes.  
    "You mean the CustProgram that attracts aqua-style viruses?" exclaimed Guilmon with a shudder. As he was a fire-style Digimon, all aqua-style attacks did double damage to him. That's why he hated aqua-style viruses with a passion.  
    "That's right," replied Takato. "We need some more aqua-style DMDs to complement your wood-style."  
    Guilmon shuddered again at the thought of changing back to the wood-style.  
"I think I'd better get going to the CyberMetro now," he said, before he turned left at the next junction and ran down a ramp. He soon came across a house-shaped door and ran through it, emerging out into a place that looked suspiciously like a Metro Station.  
    "Welcome to InphyNet CyberMetro," said a feminine voice that seemed to echo all around Guilmon. "Please keep all personal belongings with you at all times. Any unattended data packets will be removed by CyberMetro staff and destroyed."  
    Floating in an alcove was a set of what looked like white, chubby Digimon. Each one had big eyes, frilly ears with purple edges, and stubby little arms and legs. On the forehead of each one was the symbol of the Officials– a red triangle with three black triangles surrounding it to form some kind of six-pointed star. These white things weren't Digimon at all, but were in fact Programs.  
    Guilmon noticed that they were all wearing black peaked caps like the staff at Metro Stations usually did. He made his way past a couple of Digimon that were staring up at a huge screen that floated above them and made his way to the Programs floating in the alcove.  
"Hi, I'd like to buy a ticket," he said, as he approached them.  
    "Where to?" chirped the first Program.  
    "Single or return?" asked the second Program.  
    "Young Persons, Adult or Senior Citizen?"  
    "This is a customer announcement," exclaimed the same feminine voice that had greeted Guilmon upon entering the CyberMetro. "I am sorry to report to you that the 10:23 train to... DyjiNet has been... delayed by... 4 minutes due to... an obstruction on the CyberMetro Line. We apologise for the delay."  
    "DyjiNet," sighed Guilmon, upon hearing the announcement, "return, young persons."  
    The first Program then pointed down the line.  
"Then you'll need to speak to that Program over there," it said.  
    "Great," said Guilmon sarcastically.  
    "Why is it that wherever there's a train station, there's always some kind of delay?" asked Takato, as Guilmon bought a return ticket. "It's like some kind of unwritten rule that all trains must be late."  
    Guilmon shrugged at Takato's comment.  
"I dunno," he replied, before he made his way to the huge screen that the Digimon had been staring at. He looked up and saw that on it was displayed the times for all the trains. They were all delayed. "That's funny," he said, as he looked up. "What's going on here?"  
    "This is a customer announcement," droned the feminine voice. "I am sorry to report to you that the 09:14 train to... EuroNet has been... cancelled. We apologise for the inconvenience this will make to your journey." Seconds later, the voice said, "This is a customer announcement. I am sorry to report to you that the 09:34 train to... AsiaNet has been... cancelled." And the voice continued to drone on about cancellations and delays, and eventually the voice announced that the delayed train had eventually been cancelled.  
    "More convenient my digital arse," grumbled one Digimon, before he stormed off angrily.  
    Takato sighed.  
"At this rate, we'll never get anywhere," he commented. "What's up with the public services lately? The buses have always been late. The trains have been always late. Now all this!"  
    Guilmon was beginning to get very angry with the voice that was announcing all these cancellations and was thinking the owner of said voice was pretty lucky that he couldn't find said owner because if he found said owner of said voice, he would stuff them up so far up their own...  
"Yeah, it's a disgrace," he agreed with a nod of his head, immediately stopping his train of thought before he started thinking about something rather illegal.  
    Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a Program floating past and he called out to the Program.  
"Hey!" he called out, just as the feminine voice welcomed all the passengers again to InphyNet CyberMetro and reminded them not to leave personal belongings unattended. "What's going on here? I need to get to DyjiNet in a hurry to file this complaint and all these trains are being cancelled or delayed."  
    "Complaint?" exlcaimed the Program. "Of course, go down towards the path over there, follow it, turn left at the junction and the Complaints Desk..."  
    "No, no!" protested Guilmon. "It's not about the trains, it's a Complaint against the Water Company, Orbital Waters."  
    The Program sighed in relief and wiped his brow.  
"Phew, that was a close one," he sighed.  
    "Yeah," said Guilmon in an uninterested tone of voice. "So, do you know what's going on here?"  
    "Well, there's been a huge influx of Digimon to DyjiNet," replied the Program. "They're putting a huge strain on the CyberMetro system and causing delays all over the place. Some services are so delayed, we've just cancelled them."

* * * * *

    Takato leaned back in his chair, as he looked at the computer screen, which showed him an isometrical view of the CyberMetro Station. He was deep in thought. The water situation was far more serious than he thought, serious enough to effect other public services.  
"Guilmon," he said, after much thought, "I'm logging you out. I'm going straight to Orbital Waters HQ to file the complaint in person."

**_To be continued..._**


	5. File 04: Find Out

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Please read and review. I won't continue unless you do.

* * * * *

File 04: Find Out  
    "Remember, we need maximum disruption if this Operation is to work."  
    "I remember," said the second voice. "Currently, the Orbital Space Ring is as dry as a bone. There's no water to drink or wash with. As long as you guys keep the delivery ships from arriving with the emergency water supplies, we can keep this up for weeks. The people will be literally dying for a drop to drink."  
    "Just keep it that way until we can get what we want, do you understand?"  
    "Yes, sir."  


    "Oh, come on!" whined Guilmon. "Wake up, already!"  
    Groggily, Takato did just that. His mouth felt dry and sticky, and his hair was stuck up in the strangest manner. Frankly, he stank and he didn't feel quite himself. As he slid out of bed, the part of him that was awake, hoped that the water was back on. He walked over to the sink in his pyjamas and then turned the tap. There was a dry gurgling and that was it. No water. Not a single drop.  
    Takato moaned in anguish. He had only just filed the complaint yesterday and that had nearly taken it completely out of him. They had said they'd get the water back, but apparently they hadn't. When was the last time he had washed or brushed his teeth? He couldn't remember, but he felt like... something dirtier than a really dirty pig.  
"I'd kill for some water right about now," he commented and then slumped to the floor. "This must be some kind of nightmare. Any minute now, I'll wake up and find that when I turn the tap, there's going to be some nice, cool water." He waited. "Guilmon, pinch me."  
    "Oh my gosh!" came a scream from the lounge.  
    In a flash, Takato leapt up from the bathroom floor and ran towards the lounge. There he saw his mother with a look of shock on her face.  
"Mum, what's wrong?" he blurted out, as he ran into the lounge.  
    "It's... it's Hypnos!" she exclaimed, as she pointed at the television. "They're back and they're demanding 10 million Wulongs in return for the water."  
    A frown registered on Takato's face. Hypnos? Hadn't he helped the Officials destroy them? Then another thought hit him. 10 Million Wulongs? Wulongs was the currency of the Earth and the Orbital Space Ring, but 10 million of them?  
"I... I... I don't understand!" stuttered Takato. "I thought Hypnos was destroyed!" Yet now they were demanding 10 million Wulongs? "So, they were behind this water shortage all along! I knew it! No public service, no matter how incompetent could make such a mess."  
    "Wait! Takato, where are you going?" cried Takato's Mother.  
    "I'm going straight to Tento Town," replied Takato, as he stripped his pyjamas off and threw on some clothes as quickly as possible. "I'm sure that I can help the Officials sort this mess out." He grabbed his D-Tector and then dashed out of his room, or at least, he would have liked to had his mother not got in the way. "Mom!" he protested.  
    There was a stern look on her face, as she blocked his way out.  
"You, young man, are not going anywhere," she told him. "This is a matter for the Officials, not a young boy like you. And don't give me, you were a DEVA Cadet routine. The DEVA Organisation doesn't exist anymore, remember?" Upon hearing Takato protest, she folded her arms and gave him a cross look. "What I say goes, young man."  
    "Oh, Yoshi, don't be such a stick in the mud," called out Takato's father from behind her. "Let him go."  
    Takato's mother whirled round to face her husband with a cross look on her face.  
"Do you remember what happened when we let him go last time?" she asked Takato's father sternly. "He nearly got killed fighting the Dragon Syndicate. I'm not letting my son go risk his life once again. Hypnos is a Terrorist Organisation, dear, and they've probably got a grudge against Takato and his friends for destroying their Juggernaut Virus..."  
    "Mom, I can take care of myself," protested Takato angrily.  
    "Honey, let him go," Takato's father told her. "It can't hurt him, I mean, the Officials will be there and besides, no Hypnos Agents will be anywhere near there. Do you really think that Hypnos would physically be there for so long without anyone noticing?" He placed an arm around his wife, as he said, "They're most likely working through the computer viruses and Takato can't get hurt from them."  
    Mrs. Matsuda then turned to look at Takato and saw the look she gave him.  
"Oh, all right, you can go," she sighed, "but don't work yourself up too much. Remember, there's still no water and you might get dehydrated."  
    "I remember, mom," replied Takato with a nod of his head. "I promise, I'll be all right."  
    "And I'll take care of Takato," vowed Guilmon.  
    A smile spread across Mrs. Matsuda's face.  
"I know you two will," she said quietly. "Be careful."  
    "We will," replied Takato and Guilmon simultaneously, before Takato darted out of the doorway.  
    The trip was uneventful. The trains were nearly completely empty. Takato realised that due to the water shortage, people were staying home and were probably staying as still as possible just to avoid dehydrating. The youth began to think about when he last actually drank something and found that he had almost forgotten what it was like to drink, even though he had only been without water for a day.  
    The train soon stopped at Tento Town Station and it wasn't long before Takato made his way out to the deserted High Street. He could see the large facade of Orbital Waters PLC, the Orbital Space Ring's only Water Company, not too far away and made a bee line straight for it. He stopped.  
"Ruki?" he exclaimed in surprise. "Alice? Juri? What are you three doing here?"  
    "Probably for the same reason you're here," replied Ruki sternly. "To help get fix the water supply, right?"  
    "Well, that's why I'm here," said Juri hoarsely.  
    Takato looked down towards Orbital Waters HQ and saw that it had been completely surrounded by cars, each bearing the Symbol of the Officials.  
"If that's what we're all here for, then what are waiting for?" asked Takato. "Let's get going!" He ran ahead of them, a silly thing to do given the circumstances but logic never was his strong point. Still, he was the first one to make it the glass doors of Orbital Waters PLC.  
    "Hey, you!" shouted an Official, as he strode over as quickly as possible towards Takato and his friends. "Stop right there! Where do you four think you're going?"  
    "Inside?" was Takato's short reply.  
    This made Ruki sigh and roll her eyes in despair.  
"Look here, we're Reservists," she told the Official sternly. "We came here to help fix the water supply and thwart Hypnos' plans, so if you..."  
    "No, you look here, miss," said the Official crossly. "Even if you were Reservists, which you're blatantly not, Reservists weren't called for. We don't need Reservists, so go home. Now!"  
    "Okay, okay," called out Ruki, before she and the others walked away until they were out of sight.  
    "Now what?" asked Juri, as she turned to face the others. "We can't get in, there's too many Officials and that lie didn't seem to work either."  
    Takato shook his head.  
"It wasn't a lie," replied Takato, "well not, completely." He delved into his pocket and brought out his D-Tector, pressed a few buttons and then showed them the screen of his D-Tector. "See? I've got a Z Licence. Ruki and I got issued them after the DEVA Organisation was disbanded."  
    Takato was quite proud of his Z Licence. It officially allowed him to log-in to any electronic equipment he liked, except for 'Priority One' equipment (which are defined as any electronics equipment that is '_vital to the safety and well-being of the public in general_'). He could only log in to 'Priority One' equipment during a National Crisis or International Crisis, when all Reservists are required to report to their nearest Official for duty.  
    "Then you both really are Reservists!" exclaimed Alice in surprise. "I'm surprised they haven't classified this as an National Crisis."  
    Juri was speechless. The love of her life, whom happened to love someone else, was a Reservist. She knew that he loved Ruki, but this turn of events made her love Takato even more. The girl felt slightly unsteady and leaned against the emergency fire door behind her. What happened next was kind of predictable and, as Juri lay flat on her back, she reflected that it was rather stupid of her to lean against a door.  
    "Juri, are you okay?" asked Leomon from her D-Tector.  
    "I'm fine," sighed Juri, as she got back up to her feet.  
    "Way to go, Juri!" cheered Takato, as he peered through the open doorway.  
    Alice, however, was less elated. She looked at the door, which should have been firmly shut and began to wonder. After all, these emergency doors weren't supposed to open from the outside but from the inside.  
"Something's not right," she said sternly. "That shouldn't have happened."  
    "The Hypnos agent must have used this door to escape," mused Dobermon.  
    "Yeah, and now we'll be using it to go in," stated Ruki sternly.  
    "Hey, you! What are you four doing?"  
    Takato turned round and saw the Official from before running straight at them. That was a silly thing to do without any water to quench one's thirst.  
"Run for it!" he cried and they dashed in. He turned round quickly and slammed the emergency door shut behind him, locking the Official out. "We'd better get to a computer quick and see if we can log into the Water Plant's network."  
    Alice heard footsteps and knew someone was coming. She reasoned that they were the Officials.  
"Takato, Ruki, you two go and find a computer," she told them. "Juri and I'll keep the Officials busy."  
    Some men clad in a blue sweaters, blue shirts, black trousers and immaculately polished black shoes– the uniform of the Officials– suddenly rounded the corner.  
"Hey, you! Stop right there!" shouted one of them, before the Officials rushed straight at the kids.  
    Takato and Ruki ran for it as quickly as they could along the polished floor of Orbital Waters HQ.  
    "Here, you go this way! I'll go the other!" cried Ruki, taking full charge of the situation. She ran through the rightmost door and Takato took the other one.  
    Takato swore, or at least, he would have if this fanfic wasn't rated PG-13. He had run straight into a room with no way out.  
"Darn it," he sighed and then he suddenly realised that he was facing a huge number of servers. Was this where they controlled the Water Plant's entire network? Well, there was only one way to find out. "Guilmon, prepare to log-in," he called to his Digimon.  
    "Wait, don't you think it would be wise to load my wood-style?" asked Guilmon curiously.  
    "Yeah, you're right," agreed Takato with a nod of his head, as he ducked underneath one of the machines for cover. A fire-style Digimon in a computer system for a Water Plant was just a recipe for damage. There likely to be water or electricity style viruses in the system. Ideally, earth style would have been best, but wood was just as resistance to electric-style viruses and was pretty good against aqua-style.  
    He pressed a couple of buttons and changed Guilmon's programming, such that he was no longer a fire-style, virus-type Digimon but now a wood-style, virus-type Digimon with the special attack, Leaf Twister. "Okay, let's do this. Guilmon.EXE Log In!"

* * * * *

    The paths were normally metallic green, as were the terminals. Yet for some strange reason, sand now lay on the paths and terminals and in some places, the sand actually moved like a river and in other places it had become treacherous to tred on.  
    A datastream flew through the sky, which looked like a screensaver for Orbital Waters PLC, and struck one of the paths. It glowed brightly and then subsided to reveal the cargo it had delivered, Guilmon.EXE.  
    Normally, Guilmon would have had red scales but he was now a wood-style Digimon and hence had green scales. Whereas in his fire-style he was susceptible to aqua-style attacks, he was now susceptible to fire-style attacks. He sighed.  
"This place is dusty," he exclaimed, as he raised a scaly arm to shield his eyes from the grains that blew at him. "There's so much sand." He then spent a few good seconds spitting sand out of his mouth.  
    "The network's all dried up!" exclaimed Takato. "That's weird. Be careful, Guilmon."  
    "I will," replied the Digimon with a nod of his head, before he continued down the sandy path. Guilmon suddenly stopped. He looked ahead of him and saw the sand moving, yet it was moving in a direction he didn't like. Guilmon stepped towards the edge of the path and peered down. There was nothing below.  
    The normal rules of Digital World physics dictates that nothing can stray off the paths and terminals. There was one exception and that was where there was a break in the path, usually caused by a frayed wire or cable in the Real World. If Guilmon was swept away by that sand, he would be swept away to oblivion, never to return.  
    The ground suddenly shook violently and something rose out of the sand. It was like a head made out of sand that kept flowing down towards the ground, which gave it the look as if it was melting. This was none other than the infamous Sandy virus, one that normally inhabited any sandy patches within the Digital World, but were more common in ArabNet where sand was terribly abaundant.  
    The Sandy virus inhaled sharply before it breathed out a cyclone that caught the sand in its winds and charged straight at Guilmon.  
    That attack was easy to counter. Guilmon simply sharply and let rip with his Leaf Twister attack, which sent a cyclone filled with leaves straight at the Sandy Virus' attack. He saw both windy attacks hit each other and cancel each other out. That was his chance. Guilmon rushed straight at the Sandy, just when another virus appeared. He dodged it and slashed his claws at the Sandy virus, cutting the virus in half.  
    The other virus looked like a gigantic hand and it was none other than a Semtex.A virus. It placed a bomb straight down on the path, before it rose up into the sky.  
    Guilmon looked at the bomb and knew that if he didn't hurry, he would blown to digital bits. He ran straight along the path, not caring that hte Semtex.A virus was running after him. After all, he could easily outrun any virus, especially one that didn't have any legs.  
    "Wait, what about the data packet?" asked Takato, referring to the data packet that the Sandy left behind. "You've still got time."  
    "Already got it, Takato," replied the Digimon, as he ran. "It was just a BugFrag."  
    There was a sudden explosion behind him, which kicked up dust and sand into the air. The force of the aftershock sent Guilmon flying straight to the ground, allowing the Semtex.A virus to catch up.  
    "Hold on, Guilmon!" called out Takato. "DigiModify– ZapRing1 activate!"  
    Guilmon's right arm turned into an electrical prong. He shot out a bolt of electricity, which zapped the Semtex.A and paralysed it. Seconds later, Guilmon's right arm returned to normal.  
"Eat this!" he cried out, as he inhaled sharply. "Leaf Twister!" He breathed out and his wood-style attack hit the electrically-paralysed Semtex.A and deleted it.  
    There was no data packet from this one.  
    The dinosaur Digimon picked himself back up and dusted himself off. He turned round and saw that he had come a terminal and that several paths branched off from it. The question was, where to from there?  
"Takato, where do I go from here?" he asked his owner. Guilmon received no reply and instantly assumed that not even Takato knew what to do.  
    "You know, I never thought this far," admitted Takato sheepishly. "To tell you the truth, Guilmon, I have no idea. I guess you should just look around and try to find anything suspicious."  
    "Like that Digimon over there?" asked Guilmon, as he pointed to the level above him.  
    "Yeah, like that. You think you can get there?"  
    Guilmon looked around himself and began to wonder.  
"Not sure," he replied, "but I'll try." He then turned round and picked a path at random, before he ran straight for it. He knew there was no point in being choosey where he went. As long as he somehow got to that red Digimon on the level above him, that was all that mattered.  
    He put his foot forward and then sank. Guilmon found himself sinking in the sand.  
"Help!" he suddenly cried out. "Takato, help me out of this!"  
    "I can't!" cried Takato in horror. "I can't log you out!"  
    That phrase gave Guilmon this (no pun intended) sinking feeling. If Takato couldn't pull him out of, then who could?  
"Help!" he cried out again, but this much time more loudly, as he sank further in the digital quicksand. "Help!"

**_To be continued..._**


	6. File 05: Keep On

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE 3 is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Please read and review.

* * * * *

File 05: Keep On  
    "Here, grab this!"  
    A rope that seemed to be made of fine silk was flung at Guilmon's head. The reptilian Digimon looked upwards and saw the red figure he had spotted on the upper levels, earlier on. Perhaps this Digimon wasn't the culprit, after all.  
"Thanks," he said, before grabbing a hold of the rope. He held on tightly, as the long-haired Digimon pulled on the other end and gradually pulled him out of the quicksand.  
    "You shouldn't have been sneaking around here," stated the red-clad Digimon, who turned out to be a female. She wore a red hat with a jewel spider on its brim and had a purple sash around her waist. Her hair was so white it looked green-blue and her face was rather pale, yet her lips were rather red like her clothes. She wore long purple gloves and sunglasses over her eyes. "My name's Uranekimon and I'm the Digimon of Reiko Manun, one of the Officials. What are you doing here in the power plant's computer network?"  
    A sheepish look spread across Guilmon's face, such that he almost looked like the non-existent preverbial dinosaur in sheep's clothing.  
"I was here to find out what was causing the water shortage," said Guilmon in reply. "When I saw you, I thought that you were behind all this." He looked away with an embarrassed look on his face. "I guess you weren't, huh?"  
    Uranekimon folded her arms, as she glared down at Guilmon with a look of disapproval. It was reminiscent of a mother telling off a naughty child.  
"I see," she said with a slow nod of her head. "Well, you'd better log out right now before you get hurt. This is no place for a civilian Digimon like you." She turned her back to Guilmon, as she walked away from him. "Log out now, while you still can. A Digimon like you won't be able to handle the viruses here." Uranekimon turned round to glare at Guilmon one last time, before she down a ramp and to the level below.  
    Once Uranekimon was gone, Guilmon looked up as if to expect to see the face of his Operator, Takato.  
"So, are we going to log out, Takato?" he asked.  
    "No way," came Takato's reply. "Let's go deeper into the network."  
    Guilmon sighed and then looked back at the shifting sands that had nearly been his sandy grave. He recognised those pits of doom now and if ever he saw one, he would not make the same mistake again.  
"Uh, sure, Takato," he agreed with a nod of his way. "But which way?" Guilmon looked around him and saw that there was more than one path.  
    Without warning, a huge sphere of flames rushed straight at the wood-style Digimon. Guilmon narrowly dodged the attack. Several viruses were appearing in front of him and it looked as if he was outnumbered three to one. He saw a Ninja.1264 Virus and two fiery Jackal-F Viruses in front of him.  
    The Ninja.1264 looked like a monkey in a black ninja suit, but unlike the Ninja.1195 he had fought back during the Dragon Syndicate Incident, this one had a green belt instead of a red. The two Jackal-F viruses looked like pink jackals with spiky manes and their bushy tails were made out of flames signifying that they were fire-style viruses.  
    Well, that was okay. Guilmon knew that Takato had loaded a few aqua-style DMDs into the D-Tector, so it was all a matter of waiting until his Operator activated them. He leapt sideways and out of the way of the sharp-edged throwing stars that the Ninja.1264 threw at him. One of the Jackal-Fs leapt straight at him, but Guilmon rolled out of the way and swung his claws at the virus, damaging it.  
    A howl of anguish leapt up from the wounded Jackal-F, before it spat out a sphere of flames straight at Guilmon. Since the virus was at point blank range, it did not miss.  
    The flames engulfed Guilmon's wood-style body, making him whine out in pain. He leapt backwards and counter-attacked with his Leaf Twister attack, only for the Jackal-F to leap out of the way. A couple more throwing stars– shuriken– were thrown at him, just as the other Jackal-F lunged straight at him. Guilmon ran for it, the shuriken striking the floor behind him and leaving a trail of metallic throwing stars.  
    He ran circles around the two Jackal-F viruses and some of the Ninja.1264's shurikens struck one of them. That was all well and good, but it wasn't good enough. He had three viruses to deal with and they were powerful enough to delete him.  
"Takato, I need some help here!" he called out to his Operator.  
    "I wish I could help, but..." began Takato and then he trailed off. "Never mind. DigiModify– Bubl-V activate!"  
    Guilmon inhaled sharply and spat out a fast-moving glob of water that hit one of the Jackal-F Viruses and then exploded in a v-shaped pattern in a huge burst of bubbles. The Jackal-F that he had managed to wound was suddenly deleted and that made Guilmon feel good. A throwing star suddenly caught him in the arm, making him cry out in pain. More hurtled his way and Guilmon leapt out of the way.  
    He turned round and inhaled sharply.  
"Leaf Twister!" he roared, sending a leaf-laden cyclone spinning straight at the Ninja.1264 virus. Guilmon watched as the leaves spun round, cutting at the Ninja.1264. He rushed straight at the virus and then swung with all his might. His sharp claws tore into the virus' body and ripped it to shreds.  
    Now there was only one virus left. Guilmon turned round and saw the virus lunge straight at him.  
    "DigiModify– Ice Strike activate!"  
    Guilmon's right claw turned into a fist made out of pure ice. That was good enough for him. He lashed out and punched the Jackal-F right in the virus, deleting the fire-style virus in an instant.  
    "All right, Guilmon!" cheered Takato. "You did it! You deleted them all!"  
    That was when the ground shook and something rose up from the sand. It was a strange virus that could best be described as a pyramid with a happy face carved on one side, an angry face carved on the other, a sad face carved on the third side and on the fourth side was carved a surprised face. This was the infamous Pyramid Virus, one of the toughest viruses you can ever find within a sandy area of the Digital World.  
    "Not another one," sighed Takato. "Go get it, Guilmon."  
    "Right," agreed Guilmon with a nod of his head, before he inhaled sharply and let rip with his Leaf Twister attack.  
    The attack made the Pyramid Virus spin round. It stopped with the angry face facing Guilmon. That was a big mistake. A jet of flames flew out from the virus and hit the wood-style Digimon, dealing double damage. The Pyramid Virus then sank back into the sand.  
    "Guilmon, are you okay?" asked Takato hoarsely.  
    "I'm fine, Takato," replied Guilmon, as he staggered backwards. "Just, please don't talk. I don't want you getting thirsty." He felt the ground shudder again and he dived out of the way.  
    The Pyramid Virus rose back up where Guilmon had once stood. It then stayed exactly where it was, not moving, with its sad face facing Guilmon. Seconds later, poisonous gas began streaming out of the mouth of the sad face.  
    Guilmon rushed forwards and slashed at the Pyramid Virus with his claws, making it spin round. He leapt sideways just in time when the angry face stopped in front of him and let out a jet of flames. The wood-style Digimon rushed at the virus again and hit it again. This time the happy face was turned towards Guilmon.  
    There was a flash of light and the Pyramid Virus looked new again, as if Guilmon's attacks had not hit it. The virus then sank back into the sands.  
    "This is getting annoying," growled Guilmon, as he looked around him.  
    "Guilmon, I've got an idea," called out Takato. "You just wait for the virus to appear and I'll load a special DMD for you."  
    There was no verbal reply from Guilmon. He just nodded, as he listened carefully for the approach of the virus. There was nothing he could do except to wait. The ground shook again and Guilmon quickly leapt sideways to avoid being skewered by the rising Pyramid Virus. He turned round and saw that the surprised face was now facing him.  
    A gust of wind blew out of the surprised face's mouth and kicked up enough dust to obscure Guilmon's vision.  
    "Okay, let's do this!" cried Takato. "DigiModify– Wrecking Ball activate!"  
    Guilmon opened his mouth and a huge wrecking ball flew out of it and in the direction of the Pyramid Virus. He heard a thud and then a crack and the wind suddenly died down. The dust began to settle and as it did, Guilmon found he could see again and in the Pyramid Virus' place was a data packet.  
"All right, Takato!" he cried and rushed over towards it. He picked up the data packet and absorbed it.  
    "Say, Guilmon, something's happening to the sand," Takato pointed out to his Digimon.  
    There was no doubt about it. What Takato had said was true. The sand was draining away from the platform to reveal a hole in the middle of it with a ladder going down it.  
    The wood-style Digimon crept over towards the hole and looked down it. He began to wonder why there was a hole in the floor, but decided that exploration was not the best option.  
"Takato, should I go down there?" he asked Takato.  
    "You bet," came the reply, "but be careful."  
    "I will," replied Guilmon with a nod of his head. He then did his best to climb down. It was a long climb, but he managed to get down to the bottom unscathed. Well, that's a lie. He actually missed his footing on the fifth rung up and fell the rest of the way down. "Ouch, that smarts," whined Guilmon.  
    "Guilmon, you okay?" asked Takato.  
    "Yeah, I guess," whined Guilmon with a nod of his scaly head. "Say, there's a handle here!"  
    Takato suddenly realised what that meant. They had found the program they were looking for.  
"All right!" he exclaimed. "That must be the program that controls the water pump. If we turn that, the water'll return again." Takato couldn't wait to have a drink again. "Okay, Guilmon, turn the handle and let's get out of here!"

* * * * *

    Jenrya sighed and got up from his seat. He had been trying to contact Ryo for ages, but all he could do was find Cyberdramon, whom was still connected to the Digital World. Even Cyberdramon didn't know where Ryo was and that worried Jenrya.  
    "Something's definitely wrong," he said to his Digimon, Terriermon, as he walked out to the kitchen. "Nobody in this day and age goes anywhere without their D-Tector."  
    "Perhaps he's in the shower," suggested Terriermon.  
    "Nah, I doubt that," replied Jenrya with a shake of his head, as he walked over to the fridge. "You know there's no water. Look, I'll show you." He made his way towards the sink and turned one of the taps. There was a gurgling sound and no water came out. "See?" he said. "No wa..." There was suddenly a spurt and water came gushing out of the tap. "Well, I'll be. There is some water after all..."  
    It was then that he noticed the colour. Water doesn't have a colour. This water, however, did.  
"Yuck, that's disgusting!" exclaimed Jenrya, as he shut the tap off and watched the greenish water drain away. "That water's far too polluted to drink. I wonder what's happening?"  


    As soon as Takato unconnected his D-Tector from the computer, it began to ring. He flipped the lid open and raised it to his ear.  
"Moshi, moshi, Takato speaking," he greeted the other person. It was Ruki on the other end of the line. "Huh?" he exclaimed in complete surprise. "That's not possible! I fixed the water pump!" He paused to listen to her speak. "Polluted? Really polluted?"  
    Takato sighed.  
"I guess it wasn't a problem with the water pump, huh?" he said to Ruki. He then listened as Ruki suggested that it probably had something to do with the water filtration system. "You may be right about that." Takato then pulled his ear away from the D-Tector, as Ruki raised her voice. "Okay, I'll meet you there. See you! Bye!" He then pressed a button, switching off the phone function.  
    Once again, the D-Tector began to ring. Takato sighed and lifted the D-Tector back to his face.  
"Look, Ruki..." he began, only to be interrupted by a definitely male voice. "Jenrya? What's the matter?"  
    "Have you seen Ryo?" asked Jenrya curiously.  
    "Nope, 'fraid not," replied Takato.  
    There was then a silent and worried pause from Jenrya.  
"That's not good," he muttered under his breath. "Takato, you've got to keep a look out for him. He's been missing for two days now and his mother's been worried sick. Promise me that you'll call if you find him."  
    There was on word that caught Takato's attention. Missing. That and two days.  
"Missing?" exclaimed Takato in disbelief. "Sure, I'll call if I see him. Why don't you call the others? Yeah, okay. See you!" He then lowered the phone and looked at the numberpad.  
    "So, should we go looking for Ryo?" asked Guilmon curiously.  
    "Nah, Jen's bound to phone the others and they'll help him out," was Takato's reply. "Let's go and find Ruki!" He then turned round and was about to dash off, when he bumped into an Official. "Oh, hi," he said weakly with a sheepish smile on his face. It was then that he knew he had been busted. There was no way out of this situation for him now.  
    Luckily for Takato the Official's throat was too dry for him to speak. In fact, there was a rather grumpy look on his face and he looked incredibly tired.  
"You," the Official just managed to croak out. "Come with me." He reached out to grab Takato by the arm, but failed. He had been far too tired out by chasing after Alice and Juri.  
    Takato darted out from around the Official and ran for it with all his might. He knew he had to find Ruki and he knew exactly where she was, thanks to her carefully described directions. All he had to go was go down to Level 1 of the Orbital Space Ring, where the water works, power plants and other industries were located. He ran round the corner and suddenly skidded to a halt.  
    "Yipes, the police!" exclaimed Takato.  
    "Hey, you! Stop!" cried out the police officers, before they rushed straight at Takato.  
    The brown-haired youth looked around him and saw that if he was quick enough, he could just about dart past them and into a corridor that led to the right. The two police officers rushed straight at him. There was no other choice. Takato ran and slid between their legs across the smooth, polished floor. He scrambled back up to his feet and then ran for it, and skidded to a halt mere seconds later and then took a few paces back towards the elevator that he had nearly missed.  
    Takato pressed the button and then waited. He heard the footsteps of the police officers. They were charging straight at him and Takato began praying for the elevator to move quicker.  
    There was a chime and the elevator doors opened. Takato darted in and pressed the lowest button he could see. It was then that he realised he had pressed the button that made the doors stay open, so he pressed the one above and soon the doors closed before the officers could even scramble through.  
    The youth sighed.  
"Man, that was a close call," he muttered.  
    "Are you okay, Takato?" asked Guilmon. "Your voice sounds kind of... weird."  
    "I'm just really thirsty, that's all," was Takato's reply as the elevator went down.  
    "You've got to be more careful," said Guilmon in a concerned tone of voice. "You don't want to dehydrate, do you?"  
    Takato shook his head in agreement. No, he didn't want to do that. He had heard from news reports that people all over the Orbital Space Ring were fainting from lack of water. If he wasn't careful, he would join them in hospital and that would be bad.  
"No, you're right," he agreed and then left it at that.

* * * * *

    "Miss Reiley, I've found something!"  
    "What is it?" asked the Operator of the Digimon.  
    A smile spread across the Digimon's face, as she looked in front of her.  
"You wouldn't believe this, but it's one of the TetraKeys we've been looking for," she told her Operator. "I believe it's the White Tiger TetraKey."  
    "Well, this is an unexpected turn for the best."  
    The Digimon nodded her head.  
"Yes," she agreed with her Operator, "but Miss Reiley, what exactly are the TetraKeys for?"  
    The Digimon's operator laughed.  
"Oh, it's a surprise," she told her Digimon. "Let's just say that it'll help us achieve our goal of destroying the Digital Society. We will be able to delete the entire Digital World and destroy it completely in the name of the Hypnos Organisation! We only have two more to find and then we will be victorious! All hail Hypnos!"  
    "All hail Hypnos!" came the reply.

**_To be continued..._**


	7. File 06: Issho ga Ii ne

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Please read and review. I won't continue unless you do.

* * * * *

File 06: Issho ga Ii ne – (_Together is Best_)  
    Ruki pressed the button on her D-Tector and sent the text message to Takato. Her voice had totally gone and she was in no condition to shout through the metallic door to the main computer network of the Water Works on the other side.  
    It was all very simple when she had thought about it. Well, she had some help from Renamon, but it all made sense. Upon receiving a phone call from Jenrya, the bits slotted into place. She knew exactly how this had all happened from the clues she had received. Clue 1: Ryo was missing. Clue 2: Ryo's father had been at work ever since Ryo's disappearance. Clue 3: Ryo had once told Ruki that his father was the Head Technician at Orbital Waters PLC. Clue 4: Hypnos was involved.  
    Somewhere out there, Ryo was being held hostage by Hypnos goons and on the other side of that door, Ryo's father was deliberately cutting off the water supply just so that his son would be safe. It was like the Juri Incident all over again, where Hypnos had threatened to destroy her home, the Phyle Administrative Region of the Orbital Space Ring, if she did not co-operate with them.  
    Ruki just hoped that Alice and Juri would find Ryo before things were too late...  


    "Where do you think we should start looking?" asked Juri, as she looked around her. "The Orbital Space Ring is one huge place. Ryo could be in Spyrol, Phyle, Inphynitio, here in Dyjitopia... any of the four Administrative Regions." Frankly, she didn't want to look, as the Orbital Space Ring surrounded the entire Earth and was many times larger than the Earth's equator.  
    The Orbital Space Ring was a very large place with a population larger than that on Earth. Due to the Great Disaster than happened before the Year PA001, much of Earth was flooded and vast areas had been made uninhabitable. Even 177 years after the disaster, the Earth still hadn't quite recovered and the majority of humans lived in the Orbital Space Ring.  
    Juri didn't like the odds. There were billions of people on the Orbital Space Ring and millions of square miles to cover. It was a daunting prospect.  
"I don't think I have enough money to go on a round-the-Orbital-Space-Ring trip," she told Alice.  
    "What we first have to do is figure out where Ryo was last seen," stated Alice, thinking carefully. She had seen many shows on how real life police do their jobs. "We'll have our work cut out for us, but I'm sure that we'll find something... Probably."  
    "So, where do we start?" asked Juri.  
    "Why don't we phone up Jenrya and ask him where he saw Ryo last?" suggested Leomon from Juri's D-Tector.  
    A smile spread across Juri's face. Perhaps there was hope after all.  
"Good idea, Leomon," she exclaimed. Suddenly her D-Tector began to vibrate and beep at the same time. She had mail! Juri reached for her D-Tector and unhooked it, lifting up the lid and looking at the screen. "It's an e-mail from that news mail group I subscribe to."  
    Something suddenly occurred to Juri.  
"Say, you know that construction project going on in Central Agu Town?" asked Juri. She was of course referring to the capital of Phyle and the ruins of the old Hypnos Base underneath its town square. "This e-mail says that the project's been delayed."  
    Alice turned round to face Juri.  
"So?" she said in an uninterested tone of voice.  
    "Because they've come across some live wires and they don't know where they lead," replied Juri. To her the answer seemed obvious. "Can't you see? Hypnos must still be using the place and if we go there we might just be able to find Ryo." She then asked her Digimon, "What do you think, Leomon?"  
    For a while, her Digimon didn't reply, as if he was lost in thought.  
"It's clear to me," began Leomon, "that something isn't quite right at Agu Town. Perhaps we should go there and check it out."  
    "Oh, okay then," sighed Alice. "We'll check it out, but I'm phoning Jenrya to tell him where we're going."  
    Juri nodded in agreement.  
"I guess it does pay to have someone know where we are," she agreed with Alice. She then waited as Alice phoned Jenrya. There was, after all, nowhere for her to go. "I hope the others are doing well," she said, as she thought about Ruki and more importantly, about Takato. "Takato, please be careful."

* * * * *

    A Windmill Virus rose out of the sandy floor. It wasn't very large, though and was about the size of an ordinary fan. It began turning its sails and created a huge gust of wind that blew the sand straight into Renamon's face.  
    Two more viruses appeared. One was a Camel.425 virus. The second was a much stronger Camel.426 virus. Both looked like robotic camels without legs and floated in the air above the sandy ground. They were known to have two even stronger counterparts, the 500 version and the 514 version, but those were said to only exist within the DarkNet.  
    Renamon steadied herself. She had been to ArabNet before and had seen the Camel viruses in action. They were quite formidable, as they were normal-style yet had aqua-style attacks. She saw one raise its head and spit out a blue sphere at her. Renamon leapt out of the way, letting the sphere hit the ground and burst in a huge froth of bubbles. That would have been an effective attack against a fire-style virus or Digimon, but as it was, it merely made the sandy ground soggy and like mud.  
    This worked to her advantage. Sandy ground slowed the movement of viruses and Digimon alike, unless they floated over it. Renamon leapt into the air and performed her most special of attacks, Diamond Storm. She sent a huge spray of crystal shards that spiked into all of the viruses, inflicting some damage to them.  
    There was a problem though, and that was the Windmill virus. It was blowing her back and what with the sand slowing her down, it helped impede her movement.  
    The Camel.426 virus spat out two aqua bombs straight at Renamon. One was dodged skilfully, but the other caught Renamon in the head and exploded in a huge burst of damaging bubbles.  
    "Renamon!" cried Ruki.  
    "Don't worry, I'm okay," panted Renamon, as she rose back up from the ground. She turned to face the two Camel viruses. They were the ones that would harm her. The only thing the Windmill Virus did was to annoy her and impede her movements. "You viruses aren't going to get the best of me!"  
    "That's right," agreed Ruki. "DigiModify– Energy Cannon activate! DigiModify– Hyper Cannon activate! DigiModify– Giga Cannon activate!" The DMDs she selected then merged and became the powerful Supreme Cannon Combo. "DigiModify– Supreme Cannon activate!"  
    At once Renamon became translucent, as if she was a ghost. Her right arm became a cannon and she aimed at the viruses, opening fire furiously. None of the Camel viruses' attacks hit her. Renamon was comletely invulnerable. She fired shot after shot, hitting each virus as accurately as possible. There was only a limited time before the Supreme Cannon combo wore off and she had to be quick. Every shot counted.  
    The Camel.425 was the first to go. It exploded in a fiery burst of flames. The Camel.426 virus was next and it was in the midst of firing a bomb at Renamon. It dropped a BugFrag instead of a data packet like its other counterpart.  
    Now that they were gone, Renamon would have an easy time of deleting the Windmill Virus. She rushed straight at it, running against the flow of the wind. With one leap and a kick, she knocked the virus over and then stabbed it with her claws. It burst apart seconds later and left behind nothing.  
    A satisfied smile spread across Renamon's face, as she walked over to the BugFrag and picked it up. She put it away and then examined the data packet the Camel.425 left behind and absorbed it.  
"Don't we already have a Camel1 DMD?" she asked Ruki, as she read the data inside the data packet.  
    "Yeah, we do," replied Ruki. "I guess we can always trade this DMD in those new DMD Traders that are being set up all over the place."  
    Renamon nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Yes, Ruki," she agreed. She then ran straight ahead on the path, trudging her way through the sand. The Digimon didn't get very far when another virus rose out of the sandy floor. She sighed. "Not another one. Hey! You're not a virus!"  
    It was true. This certainly was no virus. It looked more like a large worm with a sandy yellow exoskeleton and two very humanoid arms on its body.  
"No, I am not," hissed the Digimon. "Who are you and what are you doing here in the water network? Wait a minute! You're an Official, aren't you? Well, I won't let you ruin everything!" He hit the ground with his tail, throwing up a huge storm of sand before he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.  
    "Do you think that was the Hypnos Digimon?" asked Renamon curiously, when the sand had settled back down.  
    "There's no doubt about it," was Ruki's reply. "If we find him, we can find out what he's done to the water network."  
    "I wonder where he went, though?" wondered Renamon out loud.  


    The paths looked like rusted blue chrome metal, as did the various terminals they led to. All this floated within a sky that looked like a beige screensaver with the Hypnos symbol floating in it. This was the computer network of the old, abandoned Hypnos Base underneath Agu Town Square. Funnily enough, it was still operational.  
    Dobermon looked around him and growled.  
"It's ages since I've been here," he muttered under his breath.  
    "Dobermon, see if you can get the lock on this door open," called out Alice, her voice coming to him from the Real World.  
    A data stream suddenly shone down from the sky and hit the path beside Dobermon. As the light subsided, Leomon materialised next to the canine Digimon.  
"So, this is the old Central Hypnos Computer Network is it?" he wondered out loud, as he looked around himself. He reached behind him and unsheathed his huge broad sword. "I bet it's full of traps."  
    "Unauthorised hacking attempt detected!" announced a voice, before an alarm blared. "Activate Protect1 Program!"  
    "Not again!" exclaimed Dobermon, as he suddenly remembered his last visit to the place.  
    Two large monoliths, like black slabs, appeared on either side of them. It blocked their way back and forwards. Each slab displayed a number, specifically, the number 10. The number began decreasing in a uniform manner, simultaneously on both monoliths.  
    "We've got to hit them both with a really powerful attack," Dobermon told Leomon. "And we've got to do it at the same time, or they won't be deleted."  
    Leomon steadied himself, spreading his legs and preparing himself.  
"Right, I understand," said Leomon with a nod of his furry head. "On the count of three?" He heard Dobermon agree with a growl and that was all he needed to hear. Leomon saw the number on the monolith change from a six to a five. It then changed to a four. Three. "Now!" he roared. "Fist of the Beast King!"  
    The two monoliths on either side shattered into dust that floated gently down to the rusted path.  
    "This places looks unstable," mentioned Leomon, as he looked around him, "as if it could break apart any time soon."  
    "Yeah," agreed Dobermon with a nod of his head. "This way!" He then bolted across the metallic path with Leomon hot in pursuit. "Watch out!" Dobermon leapt sideways and Leomon followed suit. He watched as the jet of flames flew past him. "A Cull Virus," he growled. "I didn't know they still existed."  
    The Cull Viruses were the viruses produced by the larger Juggernaut Virus. They looked like metallic crickets with spider's legs, as if they were sculpted by Picasso. The difference between these ones and the ones that Gallantmon and the others fought back when they fought against the Juggernaut Virus, was the fact that it had a force field surrounding it.  
    This was a CullF and had a FireBarrier surrounding it, which protected its user from any attack that did less than 20HP damage. AquaBarrier was the weakest, protecting from 10HP. EarthBarrier protected against attacks that did less than 30HP. Next strongest was WoodBarrier, which protected against attacks that did less than 50HP. ElecBarrier was the strongest, protecting against attacks that did less than 80HP damage. They were all, however, weak to elemental damage.  
    Dobermon counted himself lucky that the CullF wasn't protected by the Hypnos-created UltraBarrier, which protected against attacks less that did less than 100HP damage.  
"This is going to be tough," he growled. "I don't think that my attacks can do more than 20HP damage. Alice, do we have any Aqua-style DMDs?"  
    "I'm afraid not, Dobermon," came the reply from Alice.  
    "We do!" exclaimed Juri. "Leomon, get ready! DigiModify– RainCloud activate!"  
    A sphere appeared in Leomon's hand, which he threw over the CullF. The virus slid out of the way. That was all right. He knew the ShowerCloud moved in a set pattern and the CullF would eventually get rained on.  
    The CullF got hit by the RainCloud DMD. Its FireBarrier flickered before it disappeared altogether. The rain hit the fire-style CullF virus and eventually it was deleted, leaving behind a data packet.  
    Leomon looked at the data packet wearily. He wanted to get it, but the floor it rested on looked highly unstable.  
"I think we shouldn't go that way," he told Dobermon.  
    "Yeah, you're right," agreed Dobermon with a nod of his head. He could sense the fragility of the path too. "We should find another way round." Dobermon looked around him. Was there another way round, though? "Say, Alice, Juri, do you both have HyperWing DMDs?" he asked them.  
    "Yeah, why?" asked Alice curiously.  
    "The path in front of us looks real unstable," stated Leomon in reply. "It would be safer if we used the HyperWing DMDs to fly across that part of the path, just in case."  
    "All right then," came the reply. "DigiModify– Hyper Wing activate!"  
    Both Digimon grew angelic white wings that glowed with a brilliant light. They took into the air and flew across the potentially weak path. As they did so, their very presence weakened the structure of the path below and it crumbled, taking the data packet down with it. They landed on the other side and their wings disappeared.  
    Dobermon sniffed the air for the trace of any suspicious data that could be lingering about. There didn't seem to be any viruses about, like last time, but he wasn't too sure. After all, the computer network had been abandoned and any old virus from the outside Digital World could have infiltrated their way into the network. Knowing what the Hypnos Organisation's goals were, perhaps some of the viruses got strong off the data they obtained from the Hypnos network.  
    He put his nose to the rusted ground and sniffed around.  
"There's been a Digimon here recently," he growled in sudden realisation. Dobermon lifted his head and looked around him. "This way! Follow me!" He bounded forwards and Leomon had no other choice but to run after the canine Digimon.  
    Alice's Digimon was rather difficult to keep up with, but Leomon managed to do it quite well. He ran behind Dobermon, but not too close just in case the Digimon had to stop abruptly. In the distance, he saw a glowing key floating on a pedestal.  
"There!" he exclaimed. "That must be it!"  
    Before they could even reach it, a whole horde of viruses materialised in front of them. There were a whole bunch of them. Approximately thirty viruses in all, of every size, shape, strength and style. All elemental styles were accounted for. Some were normal style. Others were very powerful. Others were weak. They all had something in common though and that was the fact that they were highly dangerous in such a huge group.  
    "Man, there's a lot of them," growled Dobermon.  
    "Ha, we can take these guys on," scoffed Leomon, as he braced himself for the fight. "Between the two of us, there's only fifteen viruses each. Piece of cake."  
    "You reckon?" asked Dobermon, as the viruses advanced on them.  
    Leomon nodded in reply. One Knight Virus lunged at him to attack. With a roar, Leomon rushed straight into the fray with his sword drawn.

**_To be continued..._**


	8. File 07: Shinka de Guts

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Please read and review. I won't continue unless you do.

P.S. I've decided against making this my last in the Digimon.EXE Series. There will be one more Digimon.EXE story, Digimon.MOV. Once again, let me remind you of the contest I set at the beginning of this story. Just send in a small Digimon fanfic, and the winner will get a Digimon.EXE Timeline, a Digimon.EXE Guide and the right to continue the Digimon.EXE Series.

* * * * *

File 07: Shinka de Guts – (_Evolve with Guts_)  
    Everything was black, save for the red lines that criss-crossed the place and formed a grid-like pattern on the floor. The floor and the ceiling were both the same, with red grid patterns on them. They looked like someone's diagram of the Universe and at certain points were these pillars that rose up from the floor and joined with the ceiling, looking for all the world like wormholes that connected the two planes together.  
    The place had a rather retro cyberpunk look to it, the sort dreamed up by people when the movie, Tron, gave people the best insight of what the inside of a computer would look like.  
    Takato stood on the floor, looking around him. Was he in the Digital World himself? Man, he had never thought it to look so strange. He looked down at the floor and saw himself standing firmly on the grid floor. The lines glowed dully and didn't even seem to illuminate anything.  
    "I'm sorry, Takato," apologised a voice that the youth recognised.  
    He looked up and saw Guilmon standing in front of him. A look of surprise spread across his face, as he saw the Digimon standing there. His mouth widened into a smile. Right in front of him was the dinosaur Digimon that he had been talking to all these years.  
"Guilmon!" he exclaimed. "It's so good to see you like this, face to face."  
    Several thoughts went through Takato's mind. What would they do now that they were together, physically together? Would they be able to play and be better friends?  
"Man, I never would have thought we'd see each other like this," he told Guilmon. "You look so much better in real life than you do on the screen of a D-Tector."  
    "It's nice to see you too," said Guilmon with a nod of his head. "It's nice to see you one final time."  
    "Final?" exclaimed Takato in sudden surprise. "Guilmon, what do you mean?"  
    Guilmon shook his head.  
"I'm sorry, Takato," he apologised to his Operator, "but I have to go now."  
    "Go? Go where?" cried Takato.  
    "Goodbye, Takato."  
    Slowly, Guilmon turned round and began to walk away. Takato couldn't believe it. Where was Guilmon going?  
"No, Guilmon, don't go!" protested Takato. "Please, don't leave me, Guilmon. Please don't leave me. I don't want to be all alone." He wanted to run after Guilmon, but found that he couldn't. Takato couldn't move at all. There was nothing he could, except to stand there and watch as his Digimon walked away from him and walked out of his life...

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

    "No, Guilmon, don't leave," murmured Takato, as he tossed and turned.  
    "Takato!" came a shout. Then there was silence. "Takato!" the voice shouted even more loudly.  
    Slowly, Takato's eyes began to open. They did so weakly and so gradually, as if he was sapped of all energy. Once again the voice shouted out at him and slowly, Takato began to realise that was Guilmon's voice.  
"Guilmon?" he murmured feebly. "Guilmon, is that you?"  
    "Takato, you're all right!" exclaimed Guilmon with a sigh of relief. "Yay! You're all right!"  
    There was another sigh of relief, but this time it was not from Guilmon. It was from the youth that knelt down right in front of Takato with a big smile on his slightly tanned face.  
"It's good to see you're all right, Takato," he told the youth.  
    "Jenrya?" exclaimed Takato in surpise. "What are you doing here?"  
    The blue-haired youth laughed at Takato's comment.  
"Is that anyway to greet the person that saved your life?" he queried. Jenrya shook his head, as he put the bottle away in his backpack. "Takato, did you know you passed out from lack of water?" he asked Takato. "If it weren't for me coming when I did, you could have died from dehydration down here and no one would have known."  
    "Water?" muttered Takato. "You've got water?"  
    Jenrya nodded.  
"Yep," replied the youth. He then paused for thought. "Well, it's not so much water but juice I got from some old oranges we had lying around in the apartment." Jenrya sighed, as he thought about what he had heard on the radio on his way to the Water Works. "People are getting desperate up there. They've started juicing any fruit they can get their hands on. The shops have run out and people are getting low on fluids."  
    The youth feared what would happen if this continued. They were running out of liquids and it wouldn't be long before dehydration hit every person on the Orbital Space Ring.  
"I just can't understand where Hypnos got all the money to buy the drinks up from," growled Jenrya angrily. "It just doesn't make sense."  
    For a while, Takato remained in silence, as he sat in the corner of the corridor. He was thinking about how he had messed up, about how he had ended up pumping polluted water out to the public instead of clean, fresh water. This was all his fault. He should have done better.  
    "I've got to go and help Ruki," said Takato determinedly, as he got back up to his feet.  
    "Whoa, Takato, stop!" protested Jenrya at Takato's sudden rise. "Sit back down, Takato. You're still in no condition to help anyone."  
    It was at that point there was ringing. Both youths went for their D-Tectors, but the only one that had been ringing was Jenrya's.  
    "Moshi, moshi, Jenrya speaking," greeted Jenrya, as he placed the D-Tector up to his ear. "You've found him! Great!" he exclaimed. "Huh? Oh, okay," he agreed with a nod of his head. "I'll get it there, right away. Yeah, bye." He then turned off the phone function and rehooked the D-Tector to his belt. "Good news, Takato," he told his friend, "Alice and Juri have found Ryo."  
    "Is he okay?" asked Takato curiously.  
    Jenrya nodded in reply.  
"You bet," he told Takato with a widening smile on his face. "Ryo's even sent me a message to forward to his Dad. If we can get it to him, he'd go and fix the water supply." He saw the confused look on Takato's face and then explained to him how Ruki had figured out everything; how she had figured out that Hypnos was black mailing Mr. Akiyama to do their bidding by kidnapping Ryo.

* * * * *

    A frog-like Digimon stood in Renamon's way. He had a tuba around his neck and had his arms spread out, as he stood in front of a firewall that blocked the way to the water treatment controls.  
"I'm telling you, you can't pass!" protested the Digimon.  
    "That's right, Gekkomon, you keep them out of there!" exclaimed a mature, masculine voice.  
    Ruki recognised that voice. She knew it belonged to Ryo's Dad, Mr. Akiyama. There was no doubt about it.  
"Mr. Akiyama, you mustn't continue on like this!" she protested. "You can't let Hypnos control your life like this. Let the people have water again!"  
    "No!" shouted Mr. Akiyama in protest. "If I do, they'll harm my son! I can't let them do that!"  
    Two data streams suddenly struck the path and in their place appeared Guilmon and Terriermon. Guilmon no longer had his wood style loaded and had an aqua-style loaded. Hence, his scales were now blue and his special attack was no longer Leaf Twister, but Aqua Sphere.  
    "Gekkomon, it's me, Terriermon!" exclaimed Terriermon, as he ran up to the Gekkomon with what looked like a small piece of paper in his hand. "I've got a message from Ryo! He's okay!"  
    A face appeared on the other side of the firewall. There was a mocking smile on its insectoid features, as it peered through the glowing bars that made up the firewall.  
"Don't listen to him," hissed the insectoid Digimon on the other side of the firewall. "He's lying, Mr. Akiyama. Your son is far from okay. After all, he is in our captivity and you don't expect us to let him get away from us that easily, do you?" The insectoid Digimon on the other side of the firewall chuckled. "Do you?"  
    "Don't listen to him!" protested Guilmon. "He's the one that's lying!"  
    Gekkomon didn't say a thing. He just looked at Terriermon and then at the Digimon on the other side of the firewall, looking at them alternatively, one after another. The look on his digital face was apparent. He didn't know which one to believe. Was Ryo really fine and okay?  
"Let me see the message," he told Terriermon quietly and was handed the e-mail. "It's from Ryo's address. There's no doubt about it. He's fine!"  
    "What?" exclaimed Mr. Akiyama in complete disbelief. "You!" he cried accusingly at the Hypnos Digimon on the other side of the firewall. "You lied to me!"  
    The firewall flickered and then disappeared to reveal the insectoid Digimon on the other side. The Hypnos Digimon flexed the pincers on either side of its jaws, as it waited on the other side of what had once been a firewall.  
"So, you would think to thwart Hypnos' plans?" hissed the Hypnos Digimon angrily. "Well, I'll show you what happens to those that cross the Hypnos Organisation and me, Sandyanmamon!" He then reared up into the air and dived down into the ground, burrowing through it and disappeared underneath the sands.  
    "Where'd he go?" cried Terriermon, as he looked around him.  
    "Quiet!" shouted Renamon and then in the silence that followed, she listened to the rumbling of the ground.  
    Terriermon was suddenly flung backwards as Sandyanmamon burst out of the ground from underneath. The insect Digimon reared backwards, before firing a a huge gusher of sand straight at Terriermon. The blow hit the small Digimon and knocked the Rookie-level Digimon backwards. Sandyanmamon laughed.  
    "You're going to pay for that!" cried Renamon, as she rushed straight at Sandyanmamon.  
    The insect Digimon's tail then burst out of the ground and ensnared Renamon's foot, tripping her. Seeing his chance, Sandyanmamon lunged at Renamon and hit her with a clenched fist, before hitting her again and then again and again. He hit her repeatedly, not giving her any chance to retaliate.  
    Guilmon inhaled sharply and spat out a bubble that bounced along the sandy ground and then hit Sandyanmamon. It burst and the Digimon was suddenly engulfed by bubbles.  
"Let go of Renamon now!" roared Guilmon, before he rushed straight at Sandyanmamon and slashed his claws at the yellow exoskeleton of the Hypnos Digimon.  
    "Guilmon, get out of the way!" cried Ruki. "DigiModify– AirStorm2 activate!"  
    Renamon inhaled sharply, just as Guilmon leapt back. She then exhaled and sent the sand on the floor flying straight at Sandyanmamon. Her windy attack smashed straight into the insect Digimon, making the thing screech and let go of her foot.  
"Right, now it's time to kick some Digi-tail!" she cried, before she leapt through the air and hit Sandyanmamon with a perfectly executed flying kick.  
    The Hypnos Digimon crashed on to the floor with a heavy thud. He reared his head and then saw that Renamon's attack had blown the sand straight off the floor. Well, he would sort that out. Sandyanmamon rolled back on to his multiple legs and then reared backwards, before a geyser of sand sprayed out from his maw. He aimed and covered the entire path with as much sand as possible, before he dived back down under.  
    "Shoot! He's disappeared again!" cried Takato angrily. "Where'd he go?"  
    All of the Digimon looked around them carefully, listening quietly to any tell tale sounds of what Sandyanmamon was up to. As far as they could tell, the Digimon had disappeared altogether. There was no trace or clue as to where the Hypnos Digimon was and what he was doing.  
    The ground suddenly bulged and the sand on this bulged slid sideways and extended out towards them. It was Sandyanmamon burrowing towards them and they could see it was him, as it bulged where he travelled. All three Digimon fired their attacks at the Hypnos Digimon but found that the sand was shielding Sandyanmamon from all harm. The Digimon hurtled straight towards Gekkomon and at the last moment, Sandyanmamon burst out of the sand and grabbed Gekkomon, before diving back down into the ground and dragging Gekkomon down with him.  
    "Hey, you let go of him!" cried Terriermon angrily.  
    "Don't worry, use this!" cried Jenrya. "DigiModify– Quake1 activate!"  
    Terriermon clasped his hands together and they turned into a gigantic hammer that he raised above his head. He brought it crashing down on to the floor, causing the entire ground to shake violently. The ground rippled in a straight line in front of him, bringing up all sorts of debris from underneath the sand and turning up Gekkomon and Sandyanmamon.  
    "Now!" cried Ruki.  
    Renamon let rip with her Diamond Storm attack, while Guilmon fired his Aqua Sphere straight at the Hypnos Digimon. Both attacks missed, as Sandyanmamon used Gekkomon as a shield.  
    "You lousy coward!" accused Renamon spitefully. She rushed straight at Sandyanmanon and was about to attack, when the insect Digimon lashed out with his tail and sent her flying sideways.  
    Guilmon watched as Renamon crashed into the sandy ground with a heavy thud. Anger welled up inside him. That was the final straw. He would not let this Digimon get away with anything more. Guilmon roared out angrily, as his data began to change. Digivolving to his Champion form was not in the cards, however. It was something far more potent than that.  
    Where Guilmon had been, seconds before, there now stood WarGrowlmon, aqua-style. His scales were blue, yet now he was bigger and wore chunky metallic armour. Apart from the blue scales, WarGrowlmon looked just like the normal, fire-style WarGrowlmon. Only the scales and the attack were different.  
    "You're going to regret harming Renamon, Sandyanmamon!" roared WarGrowlmon, as he uncrossed his arms. "Freeze Blaster!" He fired two rays of pure white energy straight at Sandyanmamon, freezing up the insect Digimon. The Digimon then rushed straight at Sandyanmamon. "It's been a blast, but now I think it's time for you to split!" He then slashed at Sandyanmamon with the axes on his arms.  
    The ice cracked and Sandyanmamon cried out in pain and slithered backwards. There was a glowing line that separated his body halfway, where WarGrowlmon had cut him. It was sheer force of habit that was keeping him together and even that looked as if it was about to disappear.  
    "Help me!" croaked Sandyanmamon. "Please, help me!"  
    A data stream struck the ground and a brown-haired youth appeared. It was Hikaru Kamiya, one of Yamaki's former assistants.  
"You shouldn't have lost so easily, Sandyanmamon," said Hikaru with a shake of his head.  
    "What?" exclaimed Takato in surprise. "It's a... a... human... in the Digital World?"  
    "That's impossible!" cried Jenrya in disbelief. "How is he in there?"  
    Hikaru shook his head.  
"I guess it is time to test out the newly developed Biomerge technique, eh?" chuckled Hikaru, as he extended his hand out towards the Digimon. His Digimon then stood up and extended a hand out towards him. "Biomerge activate!"  
    WarGrowlmon watched in disbelief as the two then merged together and then Sandyanmamon's wound healed right back up.  
"Neat trick," he said. He then rushed straight at Sandyanmamon, only to be hit back by a geyser of sand from Sandyanmamon's mouth. The attack was far more powerful than it used to be and he was blown back several hundred paces.  
    "He looks strong," commented Terriermon, "much stronger than he was before."  
    "Well, in that case, we'd better get you to digivolve too," stated Jenrya. "DigiModify– Matrix Digivolution activate!"  
    "DigiModify– Matrix Digivolution activate!" announced Ruki, who had got the same idea as Jenrya.  
    Soon Sandyanmamon was surrounded on either side by two Ultimate Digimon. The insect Digimon sneered.  
"So, you think that you can defeat me now that you've digivolved, huh?" laughed Sandyanmamon. "I doubt it!" He inhaled sharply and then spat out a steady stream of sand from his maw, directing it at the two Ultimate Digimon.  
    Taomon created a translucent protective barrier around herself, which Rapidmon stepped into.  
"Rapidmon, what do you say we attack him from the front and rear?" she suggested to her fellow Ultimate level Digimon.  
    "Yeah, but don't forget to count me in!" cried WarGrowlmon, as he rushed back down the path towards them and Sandyanmamon.  
    "Right," agreed Taomon with a nod of her head. "Rapidmon, you take the rear, I'll take the front!" She waved her arms to her side and dispersed the shield around them. "Thousand Spells!" She let rip with a stream of paper charms that flew through the air and exploded on contact with Sandyanmamon's exoskeleton.  
    Rapidmon leapt into the air and landed behind the Hypnos Digimon. He then let rip with a barrage of his potent missiles, each one roasting the insect Digimon's behind.  
    Sandyanmamon screeched out inhumanly, and looked skywards. He sprayed sand into the air, creating a heavy downpour of the stuff and obscuring their vision completely, disappearing into the veil of sand he had created himself. The plan was to escape when they had lost sight of him.  
    "DigiModify– Bubl-V!" announced Takato.  
    A bubble smacked into the veil of sand and the bubbles that formed afterwards, spread outwards. All the sand became wet and slopped down all around Sandyanmamon like mud. Before the Hypnos Digimon could do anything, WarGrowlmon rushed straight at him and sliced him in half. The Digimon screamed and his voice sounded like that of Hikaru's and his own. He then slid in half and disintegrated into digital data that dispersed into the air and disappeared.

* * * * *

    "Man, I could do with a drink," said Ryo, as he walked over to the drinking fountain that had recently been installed not too far away.  
    "No, don't!" protested Juri, as she rushed up to stop him but she stopped herself seconds later. "Well, I'll be," she said to herself, as she looked Ryo take a drink.  
    The water was clean, clear and pure.

**_To be continued..._**


	9. File 08: Sora wo Crawl

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

File 08: Sora wo Crawl – (_Crawl the Sky_)  
    Takato sighed, as he walked home from school. It had been three weeks since the Water Works incident and everything was already back to normal, just in time for the half-term break. School was out for one week and thanks to the standardised school system, all school children were let out of school on the same week. That meant only one thing, Takato would not miss the World DigiBattler Championships.  
    They were to be held in North America in Toronto. Digimon Operators from all over the Earth and the Orbital Space Ring would meet there to challenge each other and win the coveted first place prize– a very large tropy and 100,000 Wulongs.  
    A sigh escaped Takato's mouth again, as he thought of all that money and what he'd be able to do with it. In reality, however, 100,000 Wulongs wasn't that much and wouldn't buy him very many DMDs. They wouldn't be able to get him any good Custom Programs either.  
    "Takato, do you think you should change my settings?" asked WarGrowlmon curiously.  
    "What do you mean?" asked Takato, as he turned into the park. He stopped, looked about him for any signs of anyone, then side-stepped off the path and into a few bushes and began taking off his tie.  
    His school had a strict rule about keeping one's uniform on, whether the student was in or out of school. Takato remembered being caught by some old busy-body with his uniform askew, even though he had just left school and was walking home. He had gotten in trouble for having his shirt not tucked in and for taking his tie off. The school saw the uniform of the students as some kind of advertisement and as such, it was made sure that students kept their uniforms on when going to or leaving from school.  
    It was silly, strange and bizarre. No pupil ever abided by the rules. As soon as they were out of school, they would remove their ties and loosen their collar for comfort. However, most students took off their blazers as well as a security measure. They couldn't get in trouble if said person didn't know from which school they came from, and so they did their best to hide the school emblem sewn on to the breastpockets of their blazers.  
    Takato emerged out from the bushes moments later with no tie, a loosened collar and his blazer slung over one shoulder. He had learnt from his mistakes. Takato Matsuda never makes the same mistake thrice. No, that's not a misprint. It is not supposed to say twice.  
    "Well, I was wondering," continued WarGrowlmon, "you know the Digimon Customiser Program you installed? You could change my attributes. You know, add more HP, increase the power of my attacks, my defensive power, lower DMD loading time... that sort of thing."  
    "Oh, I see what you mean!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden. "Yeah, I guess we should do that. I'll start up the Digimon Customiser when we get back home." He stopped in his tracks and saw someone sitting on the swings and looking for all the world like the baddest girl on the block.  
    Ruki probably was the baddest girl on the block.  
"Hey, Takato!" she called out to the brown-haired youth.  
    Takato waved meekly back at her and then saw her gesture for him to come closer. What was this? Did she want something? The youth made his way awkwardly towards Ruki, as she leapt off the swing's seat.  
"Uh... hi," greeted Takato. "Didn't see much of you today," he commented.  
    One of Ruki's patented disinterested smiles spread across her face. It had a sardonic flavour to it. It was the sort of smile that made you wary of her. It was people like Ruki that made one wonder which was the dominant gender. Was it the male or was it the females– the ones that grab the males by the unmentionables and swing them about by the unmentionables while shouting, 'I am woman, hear me roar?'  
    "Yeah, whatever," said Ruki dismissively in the way that made Takato feel more nervous of her than attracted to her. "So, you leaving for the World Championships tomorrow?"  
    That sounded more like a statement than a question, but Takato took it to be a query anyway. So he nodded in reply.  
"Uh... yeah," he said and nodded rapidly.  
    "Well, good luck," wished Ruki, as she delved into her blazer pockets. She brought out a small cartridge and handed it to Takato. "Here, this has got Taomon's attack data stored into it. You can use it as a DMD to summon a copy of her to help fight alongside of you."  
    Takato took it carefully into his hands, being careul not to drop it.  
"Gee, thanks," said Takato gratefully. Deep down, he felt as if a part of Ruki had been given to him and was stored inside the DMD cartridge. "I'll be sure to use it in my first match," he promised to her. Still, he would have to test it out first and he had an idea as to where he could do it.  


    Juri looked out the window at the construction site, as she packed her clothes into the suitcase. She was to represent Phyle in the World Championships and so had to be ready when the plane departed for Toronto. Still, she had a nagging feeling that leaving the Orbital Space Ring was going to be a big mistake.  
    "Juri, is something the matter?" asked Leomon curiously.  
    For a while, Juri didn't even reply. She just looked out of the window of her room, which used to have a beautiful view of Agu Town Square and the large statue of Taichi Yagami, Phyle's first President. Underneath that statue was where the Hypnos Headquarters used to be and was where Ryo was being held, apparently without any guards. Their attempt at keeping him locked up seemed half-arsed, completely unlike the terrorist organisation.  
    "Juri? Juri, are you all right?" queried Leomon concernedly when she did not reply.  
    "I'm fine, Leomon," replied Juri quietly. "It's just... I can't help but feel that Hypnos is up to something... something dangerous." She couldn't help but look out of her window in wonder and stare at the construction site. "I can't help but feel that their last plan to cut off our water supply was just a diversion, something to hide their true plan. What do you think, Leomon?"  
    "The way Ryo was held, it does seem that they weren't putting much effort into it," commented Leomon calmly. "It makes me wonder, though. Why did they spend so much money in buying up all the drinks on the Space Ring if it was just a diversion? Do they have money to burn or what?" He sighed. "Well, for now, all we can do is wait and find out what their next plan is."  
    Juri nodded quietly.  
"Yeah, I guess that's all we can do," she agreed with him.  


    "What now?" growled a voice angrily in the darkness. "Why did you contact me?"  
    "I just decided to check up on you, that's all," came the reply from another voice. The second person didn't sound very frightened or threatened by the first voice. "After all, we are all in the same boat, so to speak." If the second person smiled, the first person certainly couldn't see it. They were, after all, in two different worlds. "I just decided to check up on you and see if you were ready. We might be needing your services very soon."  
    "What'd you say?" snarled the first voice.  
    The second person suddenly realised his mistake. He shouldn't have said it like that. Quickly, the second person tried to think up of a better way to put his statement. He wasn't given a chance.  
    "I had doubts about working with you in the first place," stated the first voice in a tone of voice that suggested he was doing his best to suppress his rage. "Now you have the gumption to contact me and dare to talk to me as if I'm some sort of brainless mercenary for hire? Pah! Let's make this one thing clear. You **_do not_** contact me. You got that? You do not contact me!"  
    "Yes, I apologise fully," stated the second person quickly. "It was rash of me to act so. However, may I point out to you that we are close to fulfilling both our dreams. It would be foolish of you to break our deal so soon."  
    The first person scoffed at the second person's comment, as if it wasn't even worth his time considering.  
"Very well," sighed the first person. "I'll stay, if it will make you happy," he added scornfully. "Just do not anger me again, or else."  
    There was a sound as of a phone connection suddenly being terminated.  
    "Sir?" exclaimed a third voice, which sounded feminine. "Is everything all right?"  
    "Yes," sighed the second voice. "We almost lost him, Reiley, but..." The second person, Reiley's superior, left it that. "We must prepare to move our equipment from the base. I have a feeling that we'll be getting our third TetraKey very soon and when we do, it won't be long before the fourth is in our possession." A smile spread across the second person's face. "It won't be long before we can awaken the 'Beast' from its slumber. Then it will destroy the Digital World and all of Society will fall!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

**_The next day..._**

    Takato waited and tapped his foot impatiently. This was like the incident two years ago when they had to fly to Beijing for the special conference for the Officials, which he and his friends attended. Once again, it was Jenrya and Ryo that were holding things up.  
    "Oh, Takato," cried the youth's mother, as she sobbed miserably. "One more hug won't hurt!" She then hugged him tightly, nearly completely soaking his shirt with her tears.  
    Secretly, Takato was wishing that Jenrya and Ryo would finish saying their goodbyes so he could get going. He didn't know how much wetter his shirt could get, but if they continued the way they were currently going, he was sure he would soon find out.  
"Jen!" he called out to the blue-haired youth, using Jenrya's nickname. "Hurry up!"  
    "Sheesh, would you look at the two lovebirds?" exclaimed Leomon from Juri's D-Tector. "They're acting as if they're married or something!"  
    Juri sighed, as she too waited for the two to finish it up. She could remember when Jenrya and Ryo had got together. At first, the pairing had completely disturbed her. Though she was thankful that Takato wasn't involved, the thought of two guys in love with each other made her gag. Now she thought it was kind of cute the way they acted.  
"Come on, guys!" she called out to them. Of course, now the two of them were just getting annoying. "If you carry on like this, we'll miss the flight!"  
    "Let's just hope it won't be like last time," commented Takato.  
    "Oh yeah," agreed Juri with a nod of her head. "That was a nightmare of a flight."  
    "I don't think Hypnos will try the same trick twice," commented Alice quietly. "Besides, my dad says that all flights require passengers to leave their D-Tectors with the flight staff. They'll be put in special vaults which'll only open when the plane is firmly grounded and at a full stop."  
    "Huh?" exclaimed WarGrowlmon. "You mean, I won't be able to see Takato until after the flight?"  
    Takato sighed frustratedly.  
"Aw man! I was going to work on WarGrowlmon's programming," he whined. "Now what am I going to do for the entire flight?"  
    "There won't be a flight, if someone doesn't get a move on!" shouted Juri angrily. Jenrya and Ryo were working on her nerves like nothing before. She wanted to show the world just how well she and Leomon could DigiBattle and she wasn't going to let anything or anyone get her in way. "Don't make me come over there and drag you on to the plane!"  
    A thought suddenly occurred to Alice.  
"Say, how come Ruki isn't here?" she asked Takato. "I thought you two were back together again."  
    "She's grounded," came Takato's reply, "but she at least managed to send me a goodbye e-mail." He thought about it and smiled at the things she put in there. It was good to know that she had overcome her fear of saying nice things and being effeminate. Sure, she was still quite tomboyish, but now she was less so.  
    "Okay! Okay! You can let go now!" cried Jenrya, as Juri dragged him by his ear along with her. She let go and Jenrya rubbed his sore ear. "Sheesh, you're grumpy today," he commented. "You're like Ruki in a bad mood and don't any one of you tell Ruki I said that! That means you too, Terriermon."  
    "Who me?" exclaimed the Digimon as innocently as possible.  
    Jenrya smiled.  
"Yeah, I know what a blabber mouth you are," he told his Digimon, as they all walked with the others to the inspection area. Once there, it was all matter of handing their D-Tectors over to the attendant waiting at the metal detector.  
    "Oh, sir, you should keep this," said the staff member at the metal detector. "Reservists are allowed to keep their D-Tectors about them on the flight, in case of a severe emergency."  
    Takato suddenly brightened up. He was a Reservist himself and that meant only one thing.  
"You hear that?" he whispered to his Digimon. "Guess that means we can get you ready for the World Championships after all. Sounds great, huh?"  
    All four of them passed through without a hitch, sending any bags or rucksacks they had through the X-Ray machine. It was all very standard procedure and incredibly boring. Not a single thing interesting happened, which also meant that nothing dangerous happened.  
    "This is the last call to all passengers for Flight Number BN2251051 to Toronto. Please make your way to Gate Number 7," announced a feminine voice over the P.A. System, which sounded strangely enough like the voice Guilmon heard at the CyberMetro.  
    "Oh, great!" cried Juri sarcastically, before she ran after the others.  


    Ryo sat quietly in the bus, looking at the screen of his D-Tector. On it was an e-mail that Jenrya had sent not too long ago. He looked at the content and suddenly blushed a deep red that made him look a tomato with a face and brown-hair.  
"He always was a pervert," he sighed to himself and laughed.

* * * * *

    Taomon stepped into InphyNet DigiSquare and froze in her steps. It had been a long time since she had set foot within the Main DigiSquare of InphyNet, so such a huge development was a big surprise to her.  
    There was a huge flat screen monitor where the entrance to the DEVA Organisation's Web HQ used to be. It was quite large and quite flat. Several Digimon were working on it, as were several white Programs. Many of the small, chubby Programs had hard hats covering their frilly, purple-edged ears and just made them look even cuter than they originally were. Some had miniature-sized construction tools that, although miniature-sized, were the perfect size for them.  
    "Seems as if they're preparing for the World Championships," stated Ruki.  
    "They must be broadcasting it all over the Digital World," commented Taomon.  
    "Ha!" laughed a voice from nearby. It belonged to a Gazimon with shades on. "That is an understatement, miss. The World Championships will be broadcast everywhere! People'll be able to watch it on their D-Tectors. Digimon will be able to watch it wherever they find one of these screens. Everyone will have access to the broadcast, no matter where they are!"  
    Taomon frowned at the Gazimon's statement.  
"So, you work for a TV Company?" she asked him.  
    "I work for **_the_** TV Company, Digital News Network!" announced the Gazimon. He then scrutinised Taomon carefully. "Say, aren't you...? No! It can't be! You're the Digimon of the daughter of Mrs. Makino, DNN's President!"  
    The Digimon shook her head.  
"I wouldn't go telling everyone, if I were you," Taomon warned the Gazimon in a protective and threatening manner. "We don't want any old person knowing this piece of information, now do we? Someone could lose their job if such information got into the hands of criminal low lives, if you get my drift."  
    The Gazimon mumbled an apology and then slinked away hurriedly.  
    After a while, Ruki spoke up.  
"Thanks for that, Taomon," she told the Digimon.  
    "It was nothing," said Taomon dismissively. "Now, why don't we go and have a look at the messageboards?"  
    "Good idea," agreed Ruki.  
    Taomon then left and made her way towards a door made out of iron pole bent into the shape of a house. It would, no doubt, lead to the messageboards, either that or the DMD Shops. As she made her way across the DigiSquare, she did not notice that she was being watched relentlessly by a Digimon that looked uncannily like one of the Programs that maintained the DigiSquare...

**_To be continued..._**


	10. File 09: Yasashii Ame

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Please read and review. I won't continue unless you do.

* * * * *

File 09: Yasashii Ame – (_Gentle Rain_)  
    The stadium had undergone many revamps since the 1990s. Then it had been called Skydome and later on it had been renamed several things. Now it was called Skydome again and the stadium had been given such a revamp that it was unrecognisable to the people of the late Twentieth Century and early Twenty-First Century.  
    It now stood in Toronto as a huge complex that dwarfed the previous incarnation. It was like some ancient Mesopotamian ziggurat and on the top was the stadium itself. Below was a mass of retail outlets, restaurants and even the Skydome Hotel. Plants grew at every level, making it seem like some futuristic self-contained city with a huge retracting dome at the top that covered the main stadium.  
    And posted all around the place were poster and huge banners advertising the event of the World DigiBattle Championships, where the Champions from each National Championships would battle for the title of the World's Greatest DigiBattler. Since there were only eleven supernations in the Earth, that meant there were only twenty-two contestants– eleven for the Youth Division and eleven for the Adult Division.  
    The crowd around him were cheering him on and Jenrya realised that he wasn't just performing in front of the stadium audience, but in front of the entire world. He could vaguely hear Rosa Maridonna's commentating, but decided to drown it out. Jenrya also tried to drown out the cheers for his opponent, one Takeru Takaishi.  
    This was his... umpteenth battle. He had lost count, but he knew that it was Day Four of the Championships and there was still much Battling to do.  
    The Dyjitopian youth looked out towards the blonde-haired Asian youth not too far away from him and then back down to the holographic battle field in between them. He could see clearly Rapidmon's position in correspondance to MagnaAngemon's position. Neither Digimon stood on the ground, but floated above it. That meant only one thing. Attacks that ran along the ground would not work.  
    The Battle Arena was similar to the one he had faced in the Dyjitopian Championships and to the one that Takato had encountered in the Inphynitio Championships. There was one difference however, and that had been caused by MagnaAngemon's special programming.  
    On the angel Digimon's side, the tiles had become Sanctuary Panels. If a virus or Digimon was on or above it, any damage they received would be halved.  
    It was making it difficult for Rapidmon to defeat MagnaAngemon and the bunny Digimon had to resort to chipping slowly away at MagnaAngemon's HP. It didn't help, however, that his opponent had a technique that blocked all attacks and another that sent his attacks back at him.  
    Jenrya looked at the console screen in front of him and at the DMDs that he was allowed. The youth wasn't allowed to use his own DMDs, as that would probably create an unfair advantage. The standard set that had been loaded showed him a few Combos that would work quite well, but most of the DMDs individually were useless against MagnaAngemon.  
"This is going to be difficult," he sighed to himself. "Keep going, Rapidmon. I'll see if I can load some more DMDs."  
    Rapidmon didn't need to respond. He merely dodged MagnaAngemon's MagnaWave attack, which sent a sonic boom hurtling through the air towards him.  
"Thanks for sharing that!" he taunted. "Now here's something in return! Rapifire!" He fired missile after missile at MagnaAngemon.  
    "Quick, use your Reflect technique!" called out Takeru.  
    MagnaAngemon braced himself. He caught the missiles by their sides and immediately whirled round, swinging them through the air and sending them flying back towards Rapidmon. The Digimon then swung his sword in an arc in front of him, sending another MagnaWave attack flying through the air and at his opponent.  
    "Whoa!" cried Rapidmon, as he dodged the missiles but was too slow and was suddenly hit by MagnaAngemon's MagnaWave.  
    It was a powerful attack and Jenrya watched as 200HP suddenly disappeared from Rapidmon's health in an instant. It seemed to him that all of MagnaAngemon's attacks did 200HP, which meant that Rapidmon would be deleted if he was hit by five more times. The screen in front of him changed and he could see that more DMDs had been loaded. There were now 10 DMDs available to him.  
    A thought suddenly occurred to him.  
"Rapidmon, prepare to launch a Tri-Beam!" ordered Jenrya. He then watched as Rapidmon hovered in place. "Go right!" he called out quickly and Rapidmon floated sideways, narrowly avoiding another MagnaWave. "Charge up your Tri-Beam but don't launch it at him until I tell you to."  
    MagnaAngemon appeared on Rapidmon's side of the arena and swung his sword straight at the Digimon.  
    Rapidmon floated back.  
    "Now!" cried Jenrya.  
    A triangular beam flew from Rapidmon and suddenly hit MagnaAngemon. It hit him before he could even perform the Reflect technique. The attack was so powerful that it stunned him and since he was on Rapidmon's side of the arena, which did not have Sanctuary Panels, he received full damage for the attack. 120 HP damage done to MagnaAngemon.  
    Jenrya quickly selected three DMDs, all of which were Wrecking Ball DMDs. He knew that the selected DMDs would merge together to form a special Combo, the Demolition Combo.  
"DigiModify– Demolition activate!" he announced, as he pressed a button on the console.  
    Rapidmon's right hand turned into a wrecking ball on a chain. He swung it around and began hurling it at MagnaAngemon. Due to the slowness of the attack, he missed each time, but in doing so his attack hit the Sanctuary Panels and destroyed them.  
    Seeing this, Takeru quickly searched the DMDs loaded in front of him.  
"Hey, you won't get away with this that easily!" he shouted out to Jenrya and selected a few DMDs. "DigiModify– Sword activate! DigiModify– KnightSword activate! DigiModify– HeroSword activate!" He watched as the three DMDs merged together to form the powerful UltraSword Combo. "DigiModify– UltraSword activate!"  
    "Get back, Rapidmon!" cried out Jenrya, but it was too late. He watched as MagnaAngemon sliced Rapidmon in half, straight down the middle.  
    "Ooh, that's gotta hurt!" cried one of the commentators. "Rapidmon's been sliced up like a potato!"  
    Jenrya shook his head in disbelief. He was great at DigiBattles, so how was it that he could have lost? Well, at least Rapidmon had been backed-up. He unplugged his D-Tector from the console and stepped down. In the nature of true sportsmanship, he walked halfway to congratulate his opponent.  
"Great battle," commented Jenrya, as he extended a hand out to shake Takeru's. "Must say I've never seen anyone DigiBattle like that."  
    "Thanks," said Takeru sincerely. "You were pretty good too. It's a shame we couldn't use our own DMDs. I hear you guys from the Space Ring have some sweet DMDs!"  
    "That's true," agreed Jenrya. "Well, good luck with the rest of the Championships."  
    "Thanks."  


    "Next up," announced Rosa Maridonna, the Match's Official announcer, "is the match you've all been waiting for. It's a match between the Juri Katou from Phyle and Takato Matsuda from Inphnitio! So, Izzy, do you think you could tell us more about them?"  
    The red-haired man next to her smiled and nodded.  
"Of course, Rosa," he replied with a nod. "Let us have a look at our two contestants and their Digimon. Juri has Leomon, a superb warrior Digimon that some say was made especially for DigiBattles. With his great sword, he can attack with slicing slash or his, Fist of the Beast King attack, which is a punch so powerful that it sends their opponents flying back a panel."  
    "Then there's Takato Matsuda with his Digimon, WarGrowlmon," continued Izzy enthusiastically. "Unlike Leomon, WarGrowlmon has a fire-style loaded, which if Juri was allowed to choose her own DMDs, could be exploited. As it is, however, WarGrowlmon's pretty safe from aqua-style attacks."  
    "Isn't this Takato the same Takato Matsuda that brought down the Blue Dragon Syndicate?" asked Rosa curiously, she asked Izzy.  
    The red-haired man nodded in reply.  
"It sure is, Rosa," he told her, "so this will be quite some match, I'm sure." He paused for a while to look at his statistics and then continued, "Currently the odds are in young Matsuda's favour. The bookies are saying he has a 1 in 10 chance of winning against Ms. Katou."  
    "Thank you, Izzy," thanked Rosa exasperatedly. "Now let us go... Oh, my gosh!" She rose up from her seat, a look of pure horror on her face. "Did you just see that?" she cried, nearly shrieking at the top of her voice. "Something terrible has happened down at the consoles. I can't exactly tell what's happened from up here, but it seems as if Ms. Katou is now unconscious! I repeat, she is now unconscious!"  


    Takato rushed towards Juri from the other side of the large holographic battle arena, but was being kept back by the paramedics that had just arrived.  
"Juri!" he cried to her, but the medics wouldn't allow him to get near. "Hey! Let me past! She's a friend of mine."  
    "I'm sorry, sir, but you can't get near her," protested the paramedic. "She's in a critical condition right now."  
    "Please, I'm her friend," pleaded Takato. "Let me at least go with her."  
    A voice suddenly announced something over the P.A. speakers. It was Rosa Maridonna, who had finally been told what had happened.  
"For those of you that could not see, I must regretfully inform you that due to some faulty wiring one of the contestants has been electrocuted," announced Rosa Maridonna. "I have been told that she is in a critical condition and must be rushed to hospital. Due to this incident, all matches for today will be cancelled for repairs to the Battle Consoles. I am sorry for this inconvenience." She then continued to talk about how to get refunds, giving out instructions that were so complicated that one needed a PhD to understand them.  
    Takato ignored it. He ran alongside Juri, as she was taken out of the stadium on a stretcher by the paramedics. As he ran, he prayed that Juri would be all right. He talked to her, telling her things that she couldn't possibly hear. Without even knowing, he got into the ambulance and continued to sit by her side, as the paramedics worked hard to save her life.  
    "Please, Juri, please be okay," pleaded Takato, as he sat beside her. "Please stay in there. Don't leave us. I'm here for you, Juri, so please don't give up. Please, stay alive."  
    Tears dampened his cheeks. They streamed down from his eyes and the sky above went grey in sympathy and began to rain.  


    The bus screeched to a halt in the pouring rain outside the hospital, Indramax Hospital.  
    Alice stepped out with a raincoat on, the rain splattering against the plastic forcefully. Jenrya followed her and the two then ran towards the hospital doors, going through them as they slid open.  
    The inside of the hospital was white and the floor was made up of blue tiles. Near the entrance, past the large entrance mat used in public places, was a mosaic of an Arabian horse. It was the symbol of Indramax Hospital, North America's newest and most state-of-the-art hospital with automatic cleaning robots, fully automated climate control that kept the temperature at a comfortable 21ºC.  
    Jenrya brushed the hood of his raincoat back and looked around him. It was then that he saw the reception desk. He walked over to it with a solemn look on his face.  
"Uh... hi," he greeted the receptionist. "We're here to see Juri Katou. We're friends of hers." While he waited for the receptionist to find her details, he looked around him. "This sure is a nice hospital," he commented.  
    "It's not bad," stated Alice, as she looked around. "Don't know what's up with the horse motif, though."  
    "I don't know, it's pretty classy," commented Dobermon from her D-Tector.  
    A shiver ran down Jenrya's spine.  
"Is it just me or is it cold in here?" he asked in the hope that someone would also say that it was quite cold. He received negative replies from Alice and no reply from the receptionist. "Guess it's just me then," he said, almost huffily.  
    "I'm sorry, I can't seem to find any details of a Jeri Gatu," stated the receptionist.  
    "No, it's Juri Katou!" corrected Jenrya quickly.  
    The receptionist laughed at her silly mistake.  
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she apologised. "Silly me." She then went through the records once more. As she did so, she failed to notice that a message for her had appeared on the computer screen next to the one she was looking at. "Ah, here we go!" she exclaimed. "She's in Room 237, Floor 2."  
    "Thank you," said Jenrya gratefully, before he turned and made his way to the elevator with Alice close by his side. "I hope Juri's all right," he said to Alice in an attempt to make conversation.  


    Takato held Juri's hand, as he sat beside her bed. He could remember the times they shared together, as friends and nothing more. They had been happy times and now... Now it was nothing but sorrow.  
"Juri, I know you can't hear me," he said to her, "but I want you to know that we're all rooting for you. I know that you'll get better. You're not one to give up, after all." He smiled weakly at her sleeping form, as he held her hand.  
    The brown-haired youth had been talking to Juri non-stop, encouraging her to wake up. He knew she couldn't hear him. Takato knew that there was a slim chance that Juri would ever wake up again, but he knew he had to try. There was no point in not trying.  
    "Please, don't give up," Takato pleaded to the unconscious girl. "You can't give up, Juri. I don't want to see you die. You've got friends here, loving friends. None of us want to see you go, Juri."  
    Leomon sighed from his D-Tector, which sat on the bedside table next to her bed. He and Takato had been talking to Juri alternatively, each giving the other a rest.  
"Takato, I don't think that this will work," he told the youth. "We must rest and give her time. She must wake up in her own time, of her own accord, not because we want her to."  
    Takato nodded.  
"You're right, Leomon," he agreed. "WarGrowlmon, you think you could phone Alice and Jenrya, see where they are?"  
    "Okay," agreed the dinosaur Digimon.  
    "Paging a Mr. Marshall," announced a feminine voice over the P.A. System, which Takato ignored. "Paging a Mr. Marshall. Please report to the Temperature Control Room immediately."  
    There suddenly came a knock from the open door and Takato turned round. He saw a man standing at the doorway and instantly recognised him. The lurid yellow jacket was a give away.  
"Hey, you're the guy I bumped into near my school!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden.  
    A smile spread across the bearded man's face, his domed forehead glistening in the light as if it had been waxed.  
"I see you recognise me," exclaimed the man. "May I come in? I wish to apologise to Ms. Katou."  
    "Apologise?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "It was my company that made the equipment," explained the man. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Merzuno, the Head of ShibuCorp."  
    Takato turned solemnly towards Juri's unconscious form, looking away from Dr. Merzuno. He knew deep down that the man wasn't directly responsible for the accident. After all, it wasn't him that built the machine himself. The Heads of big companies like ShibuCorp never did make the machines themselves.  
"Yeah, I guess you can come in," said Takato quietly.  
    Dr. Merzuno walked in quietly.  
"It seems that everything I create turns out to hurt people," he muttered under his breath, as he stopped next to Juri. "Mr. Matsuda, Ms. Katou, I must apologise to you both. I guess, if I hadn't gone into computer programming, none of this would have ever happened." He then remained silent, with his arms crossed and his head lowered in respect. "I feel as if I must make amends to what I've done," he finally said after a while of silence.  
    "There's nothing that you can do," said Takato quietly with a shake of his head.  
    "Paging all technicians," announced a feminine voice over the P.A. System. The owner of the voice sounded very nervous and very strained. The voice sounded urgent. "Paging all technicians. Report immediately to the Temperature Control Room."  
    "Say, is it just me or is it getting pretty nippy in here?" asked Dr. Merzuno curiously, as he began rubbing his arms.  
    Takato, whom was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, nodded in agreement as he hugged himself for warmth.  
"Y-y-y-yesssss," stuttered Takato through chattering teeth.  
    A nurse rushed in with a whole set of blankets.  
"Help me put this blanket on the patient quick!" barked out the nurse, as she started unfolding the blankets.  
    "What's going on?" asked Dr. Merzuno curiously, as he grabbed a corner and helped her drape it over Juri.  
    "The Temperature Control System has gone beserk," replied the nurse, as she got another blanket and placed it on Juri. "The temperature's dropping rapidly and if we don't do anything soon, the patients might just end up suffering from hypothermia."  
    "Why don't you just turn the system's power off?" suggested Takato.  
    The nurse shook her head.  
"The technicians say they can't do it," replied the nurse. "All the systems are fully integrated. If we cut the power off for one, we cut the power of for all of them." She exhaled and her breath became misty.  
    Dr. Merzuno brought out his own D-Tector and pressed a button on it. He looked carefully at the screen.  
"The temperature's now 5 degrees and getting lower," he said concernedly. "I'm a computer engineer," he announced suddenly. "Do you think they'll need my help?"  
    "All the help we can get is very welcome," replied the nurse.  
    "Then I'm going too!" announced Takato, as he rose from his seat.  
    "But you're just a kid!" protested the nurse.  
    "I'm a Reservist too," stated Takato sternly, "and I'm not going to sit by while the temperature drops below freezing. Juri's got enough on her plate, as it is. I don't want her suffering from this hyperthermia as well."  
    "Hypothermia," corrected the nurse. "Well, I guess if you're a Reservist you could be of some help. I'll take you to the Temperature Control Room. Follow me!"

* * * * *

    The Digimon smiled evilly, as he stood within the hospital's computer network.  
"Things are going according to plan, sir," he announced to his superior. "I have the Red Phoenix TetraKey and to top it off, all of our air conditioning units are putting a freeze on every building on the Earth and Orbital Space Ring. It won't be long before we have frozen people-cicles."  
    "Good," chuckled the voice of the Digimon's superior. "Continue with the Plan. Freeze them all!"

**_To be continued..._**


	11. File 10: Tenshi no Inori

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

Author's Note: I'm abandoning the copyrights notice for now, because frankly, if you haven't read it by now, you must be blind.  
Note to RB3. No, I don't live in Canada, but I visited Toronto in the Summer of '97. Nice place. Nice climate. How I prefer it to wet, miserable England...

* * * * *

File 10: Tenshi no Inori – (_Angel's Prayer_)  
    The nurse suddenly shrieked, as she lost her footing and skidded on the floor. She fell backwards and was caught by Dr. Merzuno.  
    The automated cleaning robots had just recently finished cleaning the corridor and hence the floor was still wet, when the temperature reached zero. The low temperature had created a thin film of ice on the floor, making it dangerously slippery to all those that tried to walk on it.  
    Takato didn't heed what had happened to the nurse however. He ran full tilt along the non-slippery part of the corridor's floor and then slid skilfully across the icy floor towards the door of the Temperature Control Room. He reached out and grabbed the frame of the open door, stopping himself and then slithered awkwardly in.  
"Okay, where's the problem?" he asked the technicians inside it.  
    "What? Hey, kid, get out of here!" shouted one technician angrily. "You're not allowed in here!"  
    "But I'm a Reservist," protested Takato. "I can help!"  
    Another technician scoffed at the kid's claim.  
"Yeah, right," he said sarcastically. "There's nothing that a kid like you can do. It takes professionals like us to fix a complicated system like this."  
    One very old technician then stepped out from behind a huge machine. He peered at Takato from over the top of his very thin, spectacles.  
"Say, aren't you that Matsuda kid?" he asked, as he cleaned his hands. "The one that brought down the Blue Dragon Syndicate?"  
    "Well, I didn't do it all by myself," said Takato modestly and with a sheepish look on his face.  
    The old technician thought quietly for a while.  
"This may be a software problem, in which case, kid, you're just the right person to help," he said sternly. "The Log In Port is right here." There was a sudden ringing and the technician brought out his D-Tector and looked at its screen. "It's a message from Hypnos!"  
    "What does it say, Joe?" asked one of the technicians.  
    Joe, the oldest of all the technicians in the room, turned to look at the machines and then back at the D-Tector.  
"I knew there was something fishy about that vendor!" he exclaimed angrily. "I told you lummocks not to buy the air conditioning from that guy! This stupid machine was made by Hypnos!"  
    "No wonder it's going haywire," exclaimed Takato in sudden realisation. "It was programmed to do so!" If he had the sense to think it through, he would have realised that this was how Hypnos had funded its previous operation on the Orbital Space Ring. "Step back!" he cried. "I know how to deal with Hypnos. Guilmon.EXE Log In!"

* * * * *

    The paths of the Hospital Computer Network looked as if it made was out of glass and had atoms on on either edge, with metallic girders going in between each atom. The terminals were the same. This all floated in a sky that looked a screensaver full of rotating pills that moved diagonally upwards with spinning stethoscopes behind them, moving in the opposite direction.  
    A data stream flew down from the sky and hit the terminal on which a Digimon was standing. The light of the data stream subsided and revealed WarGrowlmon.  
"Hey, you!" cried the Digimon, as soon as he saw the snowy white snowman like Digimon not too far away from him. "What are you doing here?"  
    "Oh, don't mind me," stated the white Digimon. "I'm just your friendly neighbourhood Digimon." He looked around him and then said in a hushed whisper. "There's this really evil looking Digimon going around messing around with the controls and everything. Are you here to stop him?"  
    "Hey, that ain't one of the installed Programs!" cried Joe.  
    "Did you hear that, WarGrowlmon?" asked Takato. "That must be a Hypnos Digimon."  
    The aqua-style Digimon leapt back, narrowly avoiding WarGrowlmon's metallic claws.  
"Ha! Missed me!" taunted the Digimon. "You think that you can stop me, Frigimon?" The Digimon laughed, as he threw a few snowballs at WarGrowlmon, which the cyborg Digimon dodged skilfully.  
    "What have you done to the air conditioners?" asked WarGrowlmon threateningly.  
    "Ha! They're going beserk just like I intended them to," replied Frigimon, as he threw a few more snowballs at WarGrowlmon, none of which hit the fire-style Digimon. "I'm controlling them myself, so if you want to stop them you'll have to defeat me first."  
    Frigimon then turned tail and iced the floor in front of him.  
"Bye, now!" he chuckled and ran on to the ice, skidding across it and practically surfing surface towards the edge of the terminal. There, he disappeared through a link that seemed to lead outside of the Hospital Network.  
    WarGrowlmon quickly ran after Frigimon and skidded to a complete halt. He hit the edge of the terminal and didn't go any further. That may have had something to do with the fact that in front of him, the path narrowed down to such a thin width that he couldn't even set one foot on it.  
"Uh, Takato, I don't think I can follow Frigimon," he told his Digimon. "The path here's too narrow."  
    "Too narrow, huh?"  
    "Dr. Merzuno?" exclaimed Takato in surprise.  
    "I can help," offered Dr. Merzuno. "Allow me to install the DataPress Custom Program into WarGrowlmon. It'll allow him to shrink himself into a tiny, tight space and make his way along those narrow paths." He paused a while. "It's very necessary. There's a lot of narrow paths in NANet, which I assume is where that link leads to."  
    "I don't know... What do you think, WarGrowlmon?"  
    "I don't mind," confessed WarGrowlmon. "It's up to you, Takato."  
    For a while, Takato didn't reply. It was as if he in deep thought.  
"Okay, Dr. Merzuno," agreed Takato. "Please, load the DataPress Program."  


    The paths of NANet were like roads and had a black tarmac texture to it with lines painted on it at intervals. These would sometimes lead to terminals, which looked like the rooftops of expensive skyscrapers that had helipads on their tops. This was surrounded by a blue sky with puffy white clouds floating past.  
    Frigimon stood on a path that had a blue triangle on its edge, which was attached to a very narrow path that went through a hole in the sky that led to the Hospital's Computer Network. These narrow paths were security measures to prevent unauthorised programs from getting to certain locations, yet Frigimon was able to use them perfectly as he had the DataPress Cust Program installed.  
    If the Digimon had a mouth, he would have been smiling.  
"Looks as if that sucker couldn't follow me," he chuckled to himself, before he turned round and made his way down the path. It was time for him to check up on the Control Programs he had installed deep in the darkest depths of the criminal-infested DarkNet.  
    A tiny, microscopic version of WarGrowlmon ran along the narrow path and out of the Hospital Network. Upon reaching the blue tile he expanded to his full size and stepped on to the path.  
"Stop right there!" he cried out.  
    "What?" exclaimed Frigimon, as he froze in his tracks figuratively speaking. "So, you can follow me after all, eh?" He chuckled. "Well, I'm not through with you yet! Run away!"  
    "Man, he's quick," sighed Takato exasperatedly. "You'd better hurry after him, WarGrowlmon. Here, hope this helps. DigiModify– Hyper Speed activate!"  
    To WarGrowlmon, everything seemed to slow down, when in fact it was him that had sped up. He ran down the path after Frigimon, following the icty path that the Digimon left behind him. It was going to be easy for WarGrowlmon to track Frigimon down. All he had to do was follow the ice.  
    Unfortunately for him, slippery ice, hyper speed and a turn in the path didn't favour him. WarGrowlmon tried his best to turn, but ended up skidding and would have fallen off the edge were it not impossible to do so. As it was, WarGrowlmon merely hit an invisible forcefield with such force that it jolted every single program in his body.  
    "You okay?" asked Takato concernedly.  
    "I'll be fine," replied WarGrowlmon, as he rubbed his scaly snout. "Ouch, that smarts." He turned and saw where the path led to. "I think I shouldn't run," he said to himself and fired the jet boosters on his backpack, floating up into the air. He then followed the ice path and turned left through a link. "What?" he exclaimed, as he emerged into a CyberMetro Station.  
    "Oh great!" cried Takato sarcastically. "He could have gone anywhere from here!"  
    WarGrowlmon sighed with a nod.  
"Yeah," he agreed. "Maybe if I ask some of the Digimon or Programs around here, maybe they can help us find Frigimon."  
    A nearby Program suddenly turned round.  
"You talking about that icy snowman?" exclaimed the Program. "I can tell you where he went. He took a CyberTrain to Sector 3A. Froze one of my buddies and just hopped on without buying a ticket! Shameful."  
    A smile spread across WarGrowlmon's face.  
"Thanks," he thanked the Program and went over to buy a ticket for Sector C1. It didn't cost him much and before long, he was stepping out of a CyberMetro and sector C1. "Takato, look! There's ice here!"  
    "All right!" chattered Takato, as he shivered from the cold. "You keep going!"  
    WarGrowlmon nodded in agreement and flew over the ice, following the trail that Frigimon left behind. A chase across NANet was not going to throw him off. He would track Frigimon and defeat the Digimon in battle if he had to.

* * * * *

    The old man was the Head of the Hypnos Organisation. He was also the founder of the Hypnos Organisation, the one and only Dr. Mitsuo Yamaki. Very little had changed about him since he escaped the Hypnos Base underneath Agu Town. He still had a full head of pure white hair and still stood with a very straight posture.  
    Yamaki wore a brand new labcoat, which was buttoned up on the side. Its collar did not fold and wrapped around the neck tightly. Draped over his shoulders was a very short, black cape that was done up with a golden thread that wrapped around the two clasps at the front. His black trousers were as neatly pressed as ever, and his brown shoes were neatly polished. His hands were held behind his back, as he stood there with his back to the laptop on his desk.  
    "So, you say that that infernal boy's Digimon is after you?" asked Yamaki curiously, as he pushed his sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose with a single finger. "I suggest then that you had better lose him. We cannot continue communicating if that boy's Digimon is after you. The Officials will be able to locate the origin of our signals and locate our base. That cannot happen."  
    "However," continued Yamaki, before the Digimon could say another thing, "I have asked our... _special agent_ to go down to the DarkNet and find you. All you have to do is go into the Neutral Territory. You know where it is, don't you? It's the quiet area of the DarkNet in the centre, between the territories of the criminal syndicates and HypnosNet. Go to the abandoned DigiSquare. He will meet you there."  
    Dr. Yamaki then turned round to glare at the Digimon menacingly through his shades.  
"Now do not call me again," he said sternly and pressed a button on the laptop, terminating the transmission. "Dr. Lee, soon you'll be turning in your grave when I gain all of the TetraKeys. Your world, the wretched Digital Society will soon disappear!" He laughed out insanely and his laughter echoed throughout the large room.  


    Takato was shivering so much now. He felt that if he ever survived this, he would end up with a cold or worse, a flu. His hands were so cold, he couldn't move them properly.  
    "Here, kid," said Joe, the old technician, as he passed a hot cup of cocoa to the youth. "Drink up."  
    "Thanks," said Takato gratefully through chattering teeth, as he accepted the cup. He placed his D-Tector down on to the nearest surface available and then cradled the cup in his hands, welcoming the warmth that seeped into his fingers. Gently, Takato raised the cup to his mouth and took a sip. "Mm... I needed that," he said. It was still freezing cold, but at least the hot cocoa was making things much better for him.  
    The youth then turned to face Dr. Merzuno, whom had returned from his little walk.  
"How is she?" asked Takato concernedly.  
    "She's fine," replied Dr. Merzuno and then saw the look on Takato's face. "For now," he added darkly. "Say, isn't that...?" exclaimed Dr. Merzuno, only to trail off. He looked at the D-Tector screen in disbelief. "The DarkNet..." he muttered under his breath. "My ShibuNet."  
    Takato looked at the D-Tector and saw WarGrowlmon walking into the DarkNet.  
"Hey! WarGrowlmon, how did you get there?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "Through one of the links used by the syndicates," replied Dr. Merzuno calmly. "I've always wanted to know how they managed to get in to **_my_** ShibuNet." He then saw Takato turn to face him with a puzzled look on his face. It was then that Dr. Merzuno laughed. "Forget you ever heard that, young Matsuda. It's classified information, I'm afraid, information that isn't meant for civilian ears."  
    "Does that mean you're an Official?"  
    "I used to be," replied Merzuno calmly, as he crouched down next to Takato and took the youth's D-Tector into his hand. "That was before the unpleasant incident, 11 years ago." He thought quietly to himself, as he stood there, before handing the D-Tector back to Takato and taking the empty cocoa mug from the youth. "I should have seen it coming. The DarkNet is the only place large enough and obscure enough for them to hide a control program for all the air conditioning units. If you follow him, I suspect you'll follow him straight to the source."

* * * * *

    The DarkNet had not changed since WarGrowlmon last went in it. The paths were still black with eeriely glowing lights set in them at regular intervals. The terminals were still grey with graffiti scrawled all over them, and dead trees still lined the edges of some of the paths and some of the terminals. This all, still, floated within what looked like the snowy static screen on television sets.  
    WarGrowlmon stopped in his tracks. He saw Frigimon standing ahead of him on the other side of a narrow path.  
"Frigimon, give up!" cried WarGrowlmon. "Switch off the air conditioning units!"  
    Frigimon shook his head in reply, as he stood there with his arms crossed.  
"No way," protested Frigimon sternly. "You'll have to defeat me in order to save your Digimon Operator and I'm not going to let you even fight me." He hefted something and then lobbed it across towards WarGrowlmon. "Here, have some viruses!"  
    There was a puff as the capsule smashed against the floor and several viruses were suddenly unleashed. They swarmed straight towards WarGrowlmon.  
    "Takato!" he cried out.  
    One was a Snow.299, which looked like a bloated creature with a tap on the top of its head. The virus opened its mouth, inhaled and then blew a small blizzard at WarGrowlmon. The aqua-style attack hit him, dealing double damage to the fire-style Digimon. The other virus was an Ice.734 Virus, which was a darker blue than the Snow.299. It opened its mouth and an enlarged snowflake flew out.  
    It travelled in a wavy pattern. WarGrowlmon narrowly managed to side-step. He rushed straight at the Snow.299, just before it inhaled and sliced it in half with the axe-heads on his arms. The Digimon whirled round quickly and sliced the Ice.734.  
"Now for the others," he muttered under his breath, as he turned round to look at the other viruses that were standing not too far away from him.  
    There was a Freezer.980 Virus, which looked like a 50s-style fridge more than a freezer. There was also a Whale Virus, which looked like a miniature Killer Whale but was blue and white instead of black and white. To make things worse, there were two copies of each.  
    One of the Whale Viruses wailed out before it leapt up into the air and crashed into the floor, punching a hole straight through it. Seconds later, it punched a second hole through the floor, flying up into the air and punching another one in front of the second. It travelled towards WarGrowlmon in this looping manner unrelentlessly, just as one of the Freezer.980 Viruses attacked.  
    It teleported right in front of WarGrowlmon and opened up to expose its cold inside to the Digimon. It bit into WarGrowlmon doing 320HP damage, which was twice the damage it would have normally done to a Digimon that was not fire-style.  
    "WarGrowlmon, pull back!" cried Takato, as he saw WarGrowlmon's HP take a nosedive. He knew that if the Whale Virus hit then WarGrowlmon would be a goner and he had forgotten to get his backup copy back from the Championship Officials. "Pull back!"

**_To be continued..._**


	12. File 11: Yuuki wo Tsubasa ni Shite

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

File 11: Yuuki wo Tsubasa ni Shite – (_I'll turn my Courage into Wings_)  
    "Atomic Blaster!"  
    WarGrowlmon fired twin beams of pure red energy straight at the Whale Virus, hitting it. The Virus seemed unfazed and continued to weave through the path, punching holes as it leapt towards him.  
"It's no use, Takato!" cried WarGrowlmon.  
    "Oh yeah?" exclaimed Takato. "DigiModify– ThunderStorm activate!"  
    WarGrowlmon's right arm turned into a cannon and he aimed it straight ahead of him.  
"ThunderStorm!" he cried out, as he fired three bolts of electricity out in front of him, each of which went in their separate directions. His attack hit the Whale Virus, dealing double damage to the aqua-style virus but didn't manage to penetrate the hard shell of the Freezer.980 Virus. "Takato, I need something more hard hitting for the other virus!"  
    "Try this Hammer DMD," suggested Takato.  
    A hammer appeared in the place of WarGrowlmon's right hand. He then charged straight at the moving Freezer.980 Virus and swung straight at the hardened body. The hammer smashed into it, crumpling the Virus' body and destroying it. WarGrowlmon then glared at Frigimon, only the aqua-style Digimon had long since gone and much to his dismay, Frigimon had not left a patch of ice at all.  
    "Takato, Frigimon's gone," hollered WarGrowlmon, as he ran across the narrow path, shrinking to a miniature size as he did so and then becoming his normal size when the path widened again. He looked around him and all he could see were the dead trees that lined the pathway and the static that the entire DarkNet floated in. "I can't see where he went. There's no ice or anything!"  
    The Digimon looked around and then saw a Digimon nearby. It occurred to him that he could ask the Digimon over there. WarGrowlmon walked up to him.  
"Er... excuse me, but did you see a snowman-like Digimon run past?" asked WarGrowlmon politely.  
    "Huh! Get lost," sneered the Devidramon. "This is the DarkNet, fool! No surface dwellers from the Regular Digiworld are allowed here, so scram! Beat it!"  
    "But..." began WarGrowlmon.  
    Devidramon rose to his full height, which was the same height as WarGrowlmon, only slightly taller.  
"Look here, **_pal_**, what part of scram don't you understand?" slurred the Devidramon. "Your kind ain't welcome here, I can tell you that. By decree of the Dark King, MetalEtemon, no one from the Regular Dark World is allowed here. No one! If you don't leave here, I'll be forced to have to shred you to pieces!"  
    A snarl had spread across WarGrowlmon's scaly face.  
"Look here, I need to find that Digimon and if you've seen him, you better tell me where he is!" he shouted at the DarkNet Digimon. "Whoa!" he cried, as Devidramon rushed straight at him. He side-stepped the attack and in doing so, he grabbed Devidramon by the wing and swung the Digimon round and straight into the trunk of a dead digital tree.  
    The DarkNet Digimon roared angrily, as he pried himself from the tree trunk. He whirled round and swung his sharp claws straight at WarGrowlmon.  
    WarGrowlmon crossed his arms and blocked the attack with the blades on the sides of his arms.  
"Look, I don't have time for this!" he roared and swept his arms aside and then headbutted the Digimon. He grabbed Devidramon and then charged, slamming the Digimon against the side of the path. "If you've seen the Digimon I'm looking for, tell me which way he went!"  
    The look on WarGrowlmon's face was one of pure rage. It came from an untapped Darkness within him, one that he had never had a need for. Now it welled up within him, making him burn with a passionate fury of rage. This Darkness made itself known within him and Devidramon could sense it.  
    "He went that way!" stuttered Devidramon, as he pointed to his right. "Looks as if he went towards the abandoned Dragon DigiSquare." He felt WarGrowlmon let go of him and he slumped back to the floor. "You're... you're not going there are you? It's in the Neutral Territory!"  
    "I have to go," was WarGrowlmon's reply.  
    "You can't!" protested Devidramon. "There's a monster there. It destroys anything that it comes across. That's why not even the Syndicates dare claim the territory for themselves. Even they're afraid of it, man!" WarGrowlmon turned round to glare at Devidramon angrily and the Digimon nearly shrunk in size at the sight of the cold glare. "Oh, okay, but you at least have to take this," said the Devidramon, as he brought out a data packet. "It's the Dark-ID. Every DarkNet Digimon has one... It shows everyone that you belong to the DarkNet."  
    WarGrowlmon took it from Devidramon wordlessly and then noticed that it was a Custom Program, which was to be installed as a part of him. That was okay. Takato could easily uninstall it. So, now that he had this Dark-ID, perhaps he would be more accepted by the Digimon and Programs that resided in the DarkNet?

* * * * *

    Jenrya kicked at the ice once more. It had frozen the doors shut, making it impossible for them to use the elevator and another spill had frozen the door to the staircase.  
    "I don't think that's going to do any good," shivered Alice, her breath condensing in the cold air. She had shed her jacket a long time ago, as the rain droplets on its plastic surface had solidified into ice. "The ice is far too solid." Even though she had Jenrya's orange vest draped around her, she still shivered. It was no good. The cold was far too penetrating.  
    The dark-blue-haired youth sighed angrily.  
"This doesn't make sense!" cried Jenrya. "It was just some spilled water. Now look at it! It's so hard you'd think it was made out of diamond!" He thought of how they had tried using hot water from a Thermos flask. The water had solidified in an instant afterwards, merely adding to the thickness of the ice.  
    "I wonder how Juri is doing," said Dobermon thoughtfully. "I can't imagine the patients are faring well in this cold air."  
    "She'll be fine," said Terriermon positively, although even he wasn't sure. Being a Digimon inside a D-Tector, he had no idea what such cold was like. "Hey, Jen, what do you think you're doing?" cried Terriermon, as Jenrya pulled the D-Tector out of his pocket. "Hey! Wait! No!"  
    "Shift, darn it!" shouted Jenrya angrily, as he swung his D-Tector down at the ice and struck at it with all his might.  
    Terriermon cried out.  
"Jenrya, please stop it!" he protested. "You're making me dizzy!"

* * * * *

    Graffiti was scrawled all over the floor of the DarkSquare, not that it mattered. The place looked broken and there were huge gaps in the floor, gaps which would lead to a Digimon's demise. Some parts looked as if they had been burnt. Other parts of the floor looked cracked.  
    Frigimon looked around him. This place scared him so much, yet at least it was quiet and safe from the DarkNet Digimon. He walked up to the huge ice crystal that grew in the middle of the DarkSquare ruins and touched it. The crystal still felt cold to the touch and he smiled. It comforted him to know that the Control Program was still working and still intact. With this, he would be able to freeze the entire world and wreak vengeance on those Digimon that had Operators.  
    The aqua-style Digimon brought out a red object. It looked like a key and the top of it was sculpted into the shape of a phoenix. This was the Red Phoenix Key, one of the TetraKeys that corresponded to a firewall within the deepest recesses of the DarkNet, a place known as the Forbidden Account. He knew all about the Forbidden Account, the Domain of the Twelve Sentinels and the DarkKing, Ruler of the DarkNet. It was the oldest part of the Digital World, standing guard to the entrance to the Dark Ocean, the resting place of the 'Beast'.  
    It would only be a matter of time before Hypnos released the 'Beast' and then the Digital World would be entirely destroyed. Only those that belonged to Hypnos would survive and they would rule the World!  
    "Give it up, Frigimon."  
    Frigimon whirled round.  
"No!" protested the aqua-style Digimon, as he saw WarGrowlmon advance towards him. "How is it possible? You couldn't have found me! Not so quickly!" The aqua-style Digimon began to back up.  
    WarGrowlmon had had quite enough of chasing Frigimon across the Digital World. He charged up for one of his Atomic Blaster attacks.  
"Your plan is going to end right now!" roared WarGrowlmon. "It's time to set the people free! Atomic Blaster!" He fired twin beams of energy at the frozen control program behind Frigimon, cracking it into pieces and destroying it.  
    "WarGrowlmon, you did it!" cried Takato all of a sudden. "The air conditioning units have stopped! Achoo!" He sniffed. "Aw great, I've caught a cold," he said sarcastically through a bunged up nose.  
    The Hypnos Digimon looked at the cracked pieces of his Control Program. It was shattered now. His dreams of revenge were gone and he had failed his superior.  
"You fool!" shouted Frigimon. "Now Dr. Yamaki will delete me for my failure." He turned round to face WarGrowlmon. "Well, if I'm going down I'm taking you with me! Sub Zero Ice Punch!" Frigimon smashed his fist into the ground and iced it up, sending a wave of ice hurtling towards WarGrowlmon.  
    Seeing it hurtling at him, WarGrowlmon fired his jet boosters and flew over the attack. He rushed straight at Frigimon and swung his arm straight at the Hypnos Digimon, but missed as Frigimon slid across the ice right underneath him. WarGrowlmon landed back on the icy ground but lost his footing and fell on to his back.  
    When the snowball flew through the air, WarGrowlmon could get back up in time. He was hit by the cold, aqua-style attack and it did double damage to WarGrowlmon, scything off 160HP off his total 900HP. The pain was intense, but WarGrowlmon managed to get back to his feet. He charged up a powerful attack and then let rip with his Atomic Blaster.  
    Fire-style attacks do not do double damage to aqua-style Digimon or viruses, even though you would think they should. As it was, his Atomic Blaster only damaged Frigimon by 100HP.  
    "Darn!" cried Takato angrily. "I don't seem to have any Electric-style attacks, except for this ElecSabre." And he wanted to use that in a UltraSword3 Combo, which was far more powerful than the UltraSword and the UltraSword2 Combos.  
    "I'll just have to tough it out then," growled WarGrowlmon, as he lunged straight at Frigimon.  
    The aqua-style Digimon inhaled sharply and breathed out. His breath was icy cold to the touch and billowed out in a fine, white mist, doing double damage and wounding WarGrowlmon by 200HP. Frigimon then punched WarGrowlmon, the force of which sent WarGrowlmon sliding backwards on the ice. He ran and slid straight after WarGrowlmon, getting down low to the icy ground as he slid.  
    WarGrowlmon fired his jet boosters and flew above Frigimon.  
"Takato, how's the DMDs coming along?" asked WarGrowlmon.  
    "Not too good," replied Takato. "I'm having problems finding the other two sabre DMDs. Oh, wait! There's a FireSabre!"  
    Frigimon leapt back to his feet.  
"Ha, no DMDs will help you now!" laughed Frigimon, as he drew his hands back. "Try this on for size!" He performed one complicated manoeuvre before slamming both his hands down to the ground.  
    Huge spikes of ice rose up from the ground and one sliced past WarGrowlmon's leg, making him cry out in pain. He staggered backwards and crashed into the sharp edge of another spike. The two spikes had sliced his HP down considerably and he was no down to a very low 10HP. One more attack and he would be deleted in an instant.  
    "Now let's try another snowball!" chortled Frigimon, as he threw a snowball through the air.  
    WarGrowlmon dodged it, being careful not to hit the ice spikes that still stood around him. He swung his arms in an arc around him, cutting through the surrounding ice spikes with the axe blades on his arms. They fell and shattered all around him.  
    "Wait, WarGrowlmon, I've got some DMDs for you to use," announced Takato quickly. "DigiModify– Sanctuary Panel activate! DigiModify– GigaHeal activate! DigiModify– Taomon activate!" To his surprise, none of the DMDs actually appeared but instead merged into one. "Wow! I never knew this Combo existed. Oh well... DigiModify– GigaHeart activate!"  
    Taomon suddenly appeared, or rather a copy of her did. She flew straight at Frigimon with such speed that the aqua-style Digimon couldn't get out of the way. The fox Digimon thrust her arms forwards and let rip with her Thousand Spells attack, which plastered Frigimon with strips of paper with incantations written on them. Moments later, Taomon clapped her hands together in prayer. The pieces of paper became beams of light that shot upwards and then bathed WarGrowlmon, healing all his wounds. Seconds later, Taomon disappeared.  
    "Now that's one good Combo," commented WarGrowlmon. He felt completely refreshed. No wonder, seeing as he had 900HP again. WarGrowlmon smiled as he braced himself for battle. "Time to show you what I can do when I'm at full power, Frigimon." He rushed straight at Frigimon and slashed straight at the aqua-style Digimon, cutting away at his digital data.  
    Frigimon was unable to get out of the way in time. Each time one of WarGrowlmon's blades cut at him, he lost a considerable amount of HP. There was no other thing for it. He thrust his arms out and punched WarGrowlmon in the chest and sent the fire-style Digimon flying backwards.  
"I won't be defeated by the likes of you!" protested Frigimon, as he threw a capsule down to the floor. "Now feast on viruses!"  
    "That coward!" accused Takato.  
    They were all Freezer.980 Viruses and to make things worse, there were three of them. They moved sideways as if they were on wheels and were positioned one behind the other, moving in alternate directions. The three viruses made it impossible for WarGrowlmon's Atomic Blaster to hit Frigimon.  
    "WarGrowlmon, when one of them attacks, step back and let them have it," suggested Takato.  
    "Right," agreed WarGrowlmon with a nod of his head, as he steaded himself. The ground around him rumbled again. This time, he leapt sideways, avoiding the icicles that sprouted up from the ground.  
    A Freezer.980 teleported in front of WarGrowlmon and opened its door.  
    There was an ice spike behind WarGrowlmon, so he had to step sideways instead. In doing so, he was not able to attack the Freezer.980. Another one appeared in front of him. He stepped back and swung his axe at it, slicing the inner part of the Freezer.980. The Virus shook in pain and closed its door, before teleporting back to its original position. WarGrowlmon quickly swung his arms around in an attempt to cut the icicles that surrounded him.  
    The third Freezer.980 appeared in front of WarGrowlmon and attacked. Its cold attack hit the Digimon, doing double damage to the fire-style WarGrowlmon. The virus then teleported back to its original position.  
    "WarGrowlmon, you all right?" asked Takato concernedly.  
    "I'll be fine," replied WarGrowlmon. "You have any more DMDs I can use against these viruses?"  
    "Well, I'm still looking for the final part to the UltraSword3 Combo," admitted Takato, "but I've got a couple more Hammer DMDs. I'll load them for you."  
    Frigimon laughed, as he threw a strange ball of cold mist through the air. It arced upwards and then landed straight on WarGrowlmon's head, dealing double damage and encasing him in a block of the coldest, purest ice that Frigimon could create.  
    "WarGrowlmon!" cried Takato.  
    "You're history," laughed Frigimon. "Go get him!"  
    The three Freezer.980 Viruses then surrounded WarGrowlmon completely. Each one opened their doors and attacked WarGrowlmon, piling on the damage. With WarGrowlmon trapped in the ice he was not able to move or use any DMD or Combo in retaliation. He had become a sitting duck and his 900HP dropped rapidly past the halfway point and down into the red figures of 100HP and decreasing.  
    "WarGrowlmon!"

**_To be continued..._**


	13. File 12: Ankoku no Hohoemi

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

File 12: Ankoku no Hohoemi – (_Smile of Darkness_)  
    The image on Takato's D-Tector suddenly blurred and went all fuzzy before returning to normal.  
    Dr. Merzuno frowned as he saw that. He was looking over Takato's shoulder and saw what was going on in the DarkNet.  
"That disturbance," muttered Merzuno quietly to himself. Could it be? Was it being caused by the Digimon he was looking for? "Tell WarGrowlmon to hang in there," he told Takato, as he walked over to the Log In Port. He examined it carefully and then seeing that it could take it, he plugged his own D-Tector in. "I'm sending my Digimon, Calumon, to help you out."  
    Takato was frantically pushing buttons on his D-Tector in an attempt to load up a Burner DMD.  
"I don't think that your Digimon'll be get there quick enough," he told Dr. Merzuno.  
    "Oh, I think you'd be surprised as to how quickly he can get there," replied Dr. Merzuno with a smile on his face.  
    However, Takato didn't hear that last comment. He was busy concentrating on the screen. It blurred again.  
"What?" he exclaimed in surprise. "What's causing that?" The image returned and he saw all three Freezer.980 Viruses open up to attack. That was the time to act. "DigiModify– Burner activate!" He sent the DMD and saw WarGrowlmon burst into flames and melt the ice.  
    A smile spread across Takato's face, as he saw the flames destroy the Freezer.980 Viruses. He quickly selected another DMD, the powerful GigaHeal and replenished all of WarGrowlmon's HP, healing every single wound he had received from Frigimon.  
"Now, go get him, WarGrowlmon," he said encouragingly.

* * * * *

    There was no need to tell WarGrowlmon twice. He rushed straight at Frigimon, eager to delete the Digimon for what it had done. WarGrowlmon swung his axe straight at the Digimon, only for Frigimon to duck underneath the attack. He saw Frigimon fling a punch at him and WarGrowlmon twisted out of the way of the attack.  
    "Careful!" warned Takato, remembering that there was no way he could possibly replenish WarGrowlmon's health. "Don't forget that your HP is real low!"  
    "Give it up, Frigimon," roared WarGrowlmon.  
    "Never!" protested Frigimon. "Sub Zero Ice Punch!" Frigimon smashed his fist into the ground and iced it up, sending a wave of ice hurtling towards WarGrowlmon.  
    Seeing it hurtling at him, WarGrowlmon fired his jet boosters and flew over the attack. He rushed straight at Frigimon and swung his arm straight at the Hypnos Digimon, but missed as Frigimon slid across the ice right underneath him. WarGrowlmon turned in mid-air, just as Frigimon drew his fist back to punch. The dinosaur Digimon slashed his arms at Frigimon, cutting at the icy Digimon with the blades on the sides of his arms.  
    Frigimon staggered back in pain, reeling from WarGrowlmon's last attack. One eye was closed, unable to open anymore. His breath was heavy and it looked as if he could barely stand.  
"You'll pay for this," gasped Frigimon between deep breaths. "I won't let you leave this place alive!"  
    The ground suddenly shook violently. No, it wasn't just the ground. It was the entire DarkNet. The very fabric of reality seemed to blur and become blocky. It was like the Mother of All Earthquakes and it was happening in the Digital World, a place where such things as earthquakes did not exist. Cracks appeared on the floor and it seemed as if it would tear apart at any second.  
    Something was coming. Something insanely powerful.  
    WarGrowlmon watched in awe as the sky began to crack. He saw bits of it melt away and there was suddenly a loud shattering, as a hole was pierced through the very fabric of the DarkNet. It was a hole in the sky, floating in a vertical position above them. WarGrowlmon's mouth fell open in amazement.  
    A dark figure floated out of the hole. He was surrounded in a bright aura that bathed his very figure. He was surrounded and protected by an UltraBarrier, the very same forcefield that once protected the Juggernaut Virus. This dark figure wore a long leather coat that went down to the top of his black biker boots. He wore black trousers, the same kind of trousers that would be found on a biker and he also wore a black shirt underneath his coat. Around his left arm was tied a red bandana. His gloves were black as well and ended in sharp, metallic fingertips. A black helmet covered his head and it had three holes in for his three red eyes.  
    It was at that very moment that WarGrowlmon recognised the Digimon.  
"Beelzemon!" exclaimed WarGrowlmon.  
    "You," said Beelzemon, as he pointed towards Frigimon, "have been a big disappointment." He smiled toothily. "I think it's time for you to retire, what do you say, hm?" He laughed, before he plunged straight down towards Frigimon and crushed the Digimon, smashing him into pieces and then absorbed Frigimon's data. "Mm, tasty."  
    WarGrowlmon braced himself for a fight. He had met the real Beelzemon before, back in the old HypnosNet, when Piedmon had tried to renew and renovate the place.  
"What are you doing here, Beelzemon?" snarled WarGrowlmon. "You here for me?" He could remember the promise that Beelzemon had made to him, the promise that he would destroy him.  
    Beelzemon floated back off the floor and straightened up. He turned to look at WarGrowlmon unblinkingly.  
"Oh, it's you," he said in surprise. "Didn't notice you there, big and ugly. What you doing in a place like this, hm? I can't imagine a squeaky clean guy like you in a scum-infested crud bucket like this." The smile on his pale face widened, showing off white fangs. "Say, I know, you've come here to offer yourself as a sacrifice for me, haven't you?" He chuckled. "Well, I'm flattered but I'm a bit full from all that Digimon-flavoured ice cream. Perhaps I'll just destroy you for fun. How does that sound?"  
    He then turned round to look at the small crater were Frigimon once stood. A key lay glittering there. It was a red key and had a Phoenix on its top. Beelzemon extended his hand out and the key leapt up into the palm of his hand. He pocketed it quickly, before he turned round to face WarGrowlmon.  
"So, you ready to play, ugly?" asked Beelzemon.  
    "Ugly? Speak for yourself," retorted WarGrowlmon.  
    "What? I'm insulted!" protested Beelzemon. "How can you say a beautiful Digimon like me is ugly?" He shook his head. "How heartless of you!" A dark smile returned to his face. "Well, I can sort that out for you. Way I see it, you won't need anything in the way of a heart for much longer!" He pulled out a gun and then aimed it at WarGrowlmon. The Digimon pulled the trigger and opened fire.  
    WarGrowlmon leapt out of the way quickly. He knew that this, the real Beelzemon, was far more powerful than the clone he had faced. One attack dealt an insane amount of damage and it was in his best interest to remain unscathed.  
"Try this on for size!" cried WarGrowlmon. "Atomic Blaster!"  
    "It's no use!" protested Takato, upon seeing that WarGrowlmon's attack had done nothing to break through Beelzemon's UltraBarrier. "I'm sorry, WarGrowlmon, but I've used up all of our hard hitting DMDs. There's none left that's strong enough to break through his UltraBarrier!"  
    Beelzemon laughed out insanely, as he fired repeatedly at WarGrowlmon.  
"Hey, stupid! You forgot about my UltraBarrier already?" he chorlted. "It's far stronger than it used to be, so what are you going to do now, huh? What are you going to do now that you can't lay a finger on me?" He shoved his gun away and then flew up into the air, before plunging back down towards WarGrowlmon. Beelzemon lashed out with his claws.  
    WarGrowlmon fired his jet boosters and flew out of the way at the last minute, just as Beelzemon plunged down. He saw the floor crack and shatter under the force of Beelzemon's attack and realised that was how this place had come to be destroyed. It was Beelzemon that Devidramon had been talking about. Beelzemon was the reason that none of the Digimon dared to set foot into the Neutral Territory.  
    "Don't worry," said Dr. Merzuno. "Calumon's nearly there!"  
    "I hope he can get there soon," prayed Takato.  
    "Beelzemon!" shouted Dr. Merzuno. "Listen to me! You mustn't do this!"  
    The Demon Lord Digimon stopped in his tracks.  
"That voice," muttered Beelzemon under his breath. "No! It can't be!" He looked up skywards, as if he was trying to look at the face of God.  
    WarGrowlmon took this opportunity to attempt to break through Beelzemon's UltraBarrier again. He fired his Atomic Blaster at the UltraBarrier, hoping that his twin beams of pure energy would be able to pierce the forcefield.  
    "That," began Beelzemon as he lowered his gaze to glare at WarGrowlmon, "was a low down, dirty trick!" He smiled. "Just the sort that I like." Beelzemon pulled out his guns and then aimed and fired. His bullets smashed into WarGrowlmon, slicing off what little HP he had and reducing it all to 1HP. The smile on his face became a satisfied one, as he saw WarGrowlmon slump down to the ground unconscious. "The uglier they are, the uglier the indentation they make." He put his guns away and drew back a clawed hand. "It was fun while it lasted, but I think it's time to end this."  
    A white Digimon then floated over WarGrowlmon's unconscious body. He had his stubby little arms spread out, as he glared up at Beelzemon impassively. This little Digimon with his frilly ears with purple edges, large green eyes, small stubby little feet and arms looked exactly like the Programs that filled the Digital World. His name was Calumon and he was the original Program, the one from which all the others were cloned.  
    "I.M.P.M.O.N, I know that's you," said the little Digimon. "Why don't you stop all this and come back to Dr. Merzuno?"  
    Beelzemon glared down at the little Digimon angrily.  
"Dr. Merzuno," he growled, his hands clenching tightly into fists. "Don't you dare ever mention that name again! You hear me? Never ever say that name again!" He roared and lashed down at the small Digimon and struck down at Calumon. "Huh? What?" exclaimed Beelzemon, as he floated backwards. "How is that possible?"  
    A small, red and translucent forcefield surrounded Calumon and it was the one that had protected him from Beelzemon's attack.  
"Thank you, Dr. Merzuno," he whispered under his breath. "Beelzemon, you can't harm me, 'coz Dr. Merzuno was kind enough to give me a Crystal Aura. It's far more powerful than your UltraBarrier and can protect me from any attack that you can throw at me."  
    "More powerful?" laughed Beelzemon and he continued to laugh. "I doubt that!" he spat derisively, as he drew back his clawed hand. "Let's just see how powerful your Crystal Aura is. I'm sure I'll be able to crack it with one more hit!"  
    "Beelzemon!" called out a voice from apparently nowhere. It echoed all around them and made them look around for the source of the voice. "Beelzemon! Do you have the Red Phoenix Key yet?" asked the voice concernedly.  
    An angry look spread across Beelzemon's face. He knew that voice. It was the voice of that same old man that had dared to call him.  
"What did I tell ya' about calling me, old man?" asked Beelzemon angrily.  
    "Do you or do you not have the Red Phoenix Key?" asked the voice.  
    "Yeah, I have it," replied Beelzemon nonchalantly. "What's it to you?"  
    "In that case," continued the voice, "you must return to HypnosNet at once! We have already sent an agent to retrieve the last TetraKey. It won't be long before we can bring down the firewall within the Forbidden Account and enter the Dark Ocean." The voice paused for a while to let that information sink in. "Remember our deal, Beelzemon. You must be there when I finally reawaken the 'Beast'. After all, how are you to become even stronger if you are not there to absorb the Seal Program that keeps it dormant?"  
    Beelzemon looked down at Calumon and then towards the hole he had made in the DarkNet.  
"Very well, old man," sighed the Demon Lord Digimon. "However, this had better all be worth it." He turned to face Calumon. "I'll deal with you later, small fry." Beelzemon then floated through the hole, which slowly closed after him and then disappeared without a trace.  
    Calumon's Crystal Aura flickered and soon disappeared too.  
"Wow, that was a close call!" he sighed, as he wiped his forehead. "One more hit and I would have been a goner." He then looked down at WarGrowlmon and then thought carefully. "Dr. Merzuno, that guy sounded a lot like Dr. Yamaki."  
    "Yes, it did," agreed Dr. Merzuno, "and I don't like the sound of what he was talking about."  
    "The _**Beast**_?" asked Calumon. "Do you think he could be talking about...?"  
    "I have a sneaking suspicion that he was," replied Dr. Merzuno gravely. "Heal WarGrowlmon for Takato and then log out."

* * * * *

    As Takato watched Calumon heal WarGrowlmon, he began to wonder. He also blew his nose on a hankie, but that was irrelevant.  
"Dr. Merzuno, why did your Digimon call Beelzemon by the name, Impmon?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "When I worked for the Officials, I was working on a special project. IMPMON was the result of it," replied Dr. Merzuno cryptically. "IMPMON stands for Individual Mechanised Peronsal Manager and Online Navigator. He was meant to be a more independent Digimon that was capable of recording the data from any viruses or Digimon it fought." He shook his head sadly. "Yet something went wrong with another project and Impmon was blamed for causing it. The Officials, whom I was working for at the time, blamed him and sent Digimon to delete him. Impmon escaped with his life and I never saw him again after that. The day after that, I was fired."  
    Dr. Merzuno sighed.  
"It looks as if events from my past are catching up with me," he said quietly. "If my hunch is correct, Hypnos is trying to reawaken something that could very well destroy the entire Digital World and Society as we know it."  
    "Dr. Merzuno, I'm done," announced Calumon cheerfully. "Takato, I've also upgraded WarGrowlmon for you. He's now Mega Level."  
    "Gallantmon? How do you feel?" asked Takato curiously.  
    "I've never felt better," replied Gallantmon from Takato's D-Tector. "Shall I log out?"  
    Takato nodded.  
"Please," he replied. Seconds later, he unplugged his D-Tector. "Say, Dr. Merzuno, where are you going?"  
    "Officials HQ," came the reply from Dr. Merzuno. "I've got some things to sort out. I'll be seeing you!" He then walked out of the room.  
    Moments later, Jenrya ran round the corner.  
"Takato, there you are!" he cried, as he rushed in and grabbed the brown-haired youth by his arm. "Come on! Juri's woken up again!"  
    "She has?" exclaimed Takato, a slow smile spreading across his face. "All right! Let's go!"  


    Dr. Merzuno stood beside Juri's bed.  
"So, to make up for it, I've paid for all the hospital expenses," he continued. "Not only that, I've paid for your father to come visit you. He'll be arriving tomorrow to see you and will be staying in Toronto until you're let out of hospital. I've even paid for your return tickets, so you've got nothing to worry about. All I ask for in return is your forgiveness."  
    Juri didn't know what to say. It was nice of him to pay for all those things. She felt flattered that he had gone out of his way to do all these things for her, to pay for her father to come visit her, to pay for the return trip.  
"Thank you, Dr. Merzuno," she said gratefully. "Thank you very much."  
    "Juri! You're okay!"  
    "Takato!" exclaimed Juri ecstatically, as she saw the brown-haired youth rush in.  
    "Juri, I'm so glad you're okay," said Takato, as he gave her a big hug. "I knew you'd pull through. You're not the kind of girl to give up." He pulled himself away from the embrace to look at her better. "So, how do you feel now?" he asked her.  
    "Not too bad," replied Juri, "but the doctors say they have to keep me here for a week or so to see how I'm doing." She then looked at him in a manner that made Takato wonder what devious thought was going through her mind. "By the way, Dr. Merzuno told me all about what you did," she said, as she made a sideways glance at the bearded man. "Thank you, Takato. I couldn't have pulled through if you hadn't stopped that Hypnos Digimon." She then pulled him close and kissed him on the cheek.  
    A deep shade of humble crimson spread across Takato's face.  
"Aw, it was nothing," he said modestly. "Anyone would have done the same thing if they were in my shoes."  
    "And thank you, Guilmon," added Juri. "I'd kiss you too, but that'd be a bit difficult."  
    Gallantmon went red too at the thought of Juri kissing him and was thankful that he was in his D-Tector in Takato's pocket, where no one could see him go so red that it could be seen through his armour.  
"You're welcome," said Gallantmon politely. "It's nice to see you that you're okay," he added.  
    "Takato, a few minutes ago I was on the phone with the North American Authorities," announced Dr. Merzuno in the quietness that followed. "They heard about what you've done and are thinking about giving you a Commendation. If my proposal gets approved, you'll be famous amongst the North Americans and probably with everyone across the world. Isn't that fantastic?"  
    Takato had gone wide-eyed at the very thought of a Commendation. He would be awarded?  
"Wow, this on top of the Championships!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden. "Cool!"  
    "Actually, because of the events of late, I've decided that the Championships should be cancelled," stated Dr. Merzuno sadly with a shake of his head. "It's far too dangerous to continue the contest with Hypnos still at large and if I'm right about what their current plans are, then I think it would be best if all the Contestants went home and stayed at home." The smile on his face, which had been there only seconds earlier, had completely disappeared and was replaced by the most ashen, gloomy expression Takato had ever seen. "Well, I have to get going. Perhaps I'll be seeing you later."  
    "Goodbye, Dr. Merzuno," Takato said politely.  
    "Wow, a Commendation," sighed Juri, as she leaned back into her pillow. "I bet your parents will be so proud of you."  
    "Yeah," agreed Takato with a nod of his head. "A Commendation," he said to himself quietly. He liked the sound of that.  


    Yamaki couldn't help but smile. His dreams would soon come true and he would be able to destroy the Digital World and the Society that revolved around it. He would make them pay for ignoring his work in Robotics and BioEmerging. With the BioEmerging Technique, he could have mass produced cheap, digital robots for the entire society. Well, he would show them.  
    Three TetraKeys were now in his grasp. The last, he knew, had been confiscated off the DEVA Organisation and sealed away within the deepest parts of Zerva, the Web Domain of the Officials. It would be only a matter of time before the Blue Dragon Key was his.  
    "Soon, I shall awaken the Ancient Beast that nearly destroyed the entire Digital World, eleven years ago," said Yamaki sternly, his voice wavering as if he was about to break down into a maniacal fit of laughter. "This time you will not be able to save the Digital World. The Beast will devour it all! The Beast will devour and delete it all! Delete, I tell you! Delete! Delete! **_Delete!_**"

**_To be continued..._**


	14. File 13: Now is the Time!

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

Author's Note: Mr. Stevenson is based on an actual teacher I once had. His name has been changed... but not by that much... to protect his identity.

* * * * *

File 13: Now is the Time!  
    Mr. Stevenson, Takato's science teacher, was droning on about gravity.  
    Takato wasn't listening, even though Mr. Stevenson was one of the scariest teachers he ever had. He was thinking about the day he had received the Commendation in Ottawa, the Capital of North America. It had been a grand day full of pomp and ceremony, and Takato had met the North American Head of State, President Michael Reisz. It was all quite exciting and in the end, he had received a Grand Certificate with words of appreciation on it.  
    "Mr. Matsuda, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" shouted Mr. Stevenson angrily.  
    "Uh..." was all Takato could say in reply.  
    Mr. Stevenson was the sort of person that reminded you of an ape. He had hairy knuckles and when he was angry he looked very ape-like indeed. The man was also a formidable P.E. Teacher, which made things even worse.  
"Mr. Matsuda," said Mr. Stevenson calmly, as he paced down towards Takato, "I would appreciate it if you would listen in class. Listen or I hang you from the ceiling by your toenails!"  
    This was one of Mr. Stevenson's favourite threats, since, for reasons unknown to the students and even Mr. Stevenson himself, there was a hook in the ceiling. He loved threatening to hang disobedient students from that hook 'by their toenails'. Another favourite threat was to take out a human skull and say to the class gently, 'This is the skull of a boy who did not do his homework'.  
    Takato nodded nervously.  
"Y-y-yes, sir," he replied stutteringly. He was scared, not because he thought Mr. Stevenson would go through with his threat, but because the man would make things even worse for him during gym.

* * * * *

    Zerva was a web domain located in between all the web domains of the Earth. It was also situated between the web domains of the Orbital Space Ring and the DarkNet. Its paths looked like different coloured wires entwined together. The terminals look like sheet metal. This all floated in a black screensaver that had the Officials symbol floating in it– a six pointed star formed from one red triangle and three black triangles– for Zerva was the Web Domain of the Officials.  
    And deep down in the very centre of Zerva stood two very metallic Digimon. They did not have feet but had caterpillar tracks like tanks and they were like robots with cannons for noses. These were two Tankmon, fearsome Digimon that guarded the firewall they stood on either side of. It was their job to see that no one was allowed through the firewall without proper ID, because behind the firewall was something very special.  
    It was the Blue Dragon TetraKey confiscated off the Dragon Syndicate upon its defeat. The TetraKey was the last in a set of four and it was vitally important that they keep anyone from getting it. Repeat. It was imperative that they keep it from falling into the wrong hands.  
    A red Digimon with eight spidery legs and red horns sticking out from her head, scuttled across the path towards the terminal on which they stood on. She had a red mask across her face and looked very threatening.  
    "Halt!" cried one of the Tankmon. "Who goes there?"  
    "None of your business," replied the spidery Digimon, as she plucked a few strands of hair from her head. They stood up straight, as if they were glass needles. "Spirit Needle!" She flung the strands of hair at the Tankmon and they stuck into the metallic hides of the two Digimon. "Acid Mist!"  
    "Fire!" cried the second Tankmon and he opened fire on the spider Digimon. He missed. "Fire! Don't let her through!"  
    The spider Digimon laughed.  
"Too late, pal!" she cackled, as she swung a hand at one of the Tankmon's face and pushed the Digimon aside. "Acid Mist!" She breathed out a mist of pure green that floated towards the firewall and melted it, destroying it. "At last, all of the TetraKeys are ours!"  
    "Good work, Arukenimon," stated a feminine voice. "Now log out! We've got to go to the ShibuNet Servers if we're to use the TetraKeys."  
    "Hey, you're not escaping!" protested one of the Tankmon. "Initiate Security System!"  
    Arukenimon looked around her.  
"Reiley, it's no use!" she protested. "I can't log out!"  
    "Those foolish Officials," snarled Reiley angrily. "Fine! Delete them all until you can leave Zerva! I'll log you out once you're outside of their control."  
    A smile spread across Arukenimon's face.  
"Delete them all," she said with a nod of her head. "Yes, I like the sound of that." She then watched as the two Tankmon advanced towards her. "That's right, boys. Come straight at me." She laughed and her laugh echoed throughout Zerva.

* * * * *

    As Takato packed his things away into his backpack, the P.A. System suddenly screeched into life.  
    "Ahem, this is the Principal speaking," announced the voice over the P.A. System. "I have just been told by the Officials that an International Crisis is on our hands. The UN is mobilising peace-keeping troops and is placing the Earth and the Orbital Space Ring under martial law. All students are to return to their homes immediately. Any student that does not do so will be punished severely." The Principal paused for a while to let that information sink in. "That will mean a year's detention. Also, the Officials have asked me to inform all Reservists to report for duty immediately."  
    Takato thought carefully about what the Principal said. All Reservists that meant him as well.  
"Wow, did you hear all that, Gallantmon?" he asked his Digimon. He had a sneaking suspicion that Hypnos was behind all this. If they were, whatever they had up their sleeves seemed a million times worse than the Juggernaut Virus. "Guess that means we have to go up to Level 3."  


    Jenrya looked around him as he walked through the streets. They seemed absolutely deserted with the exception for the patrolling police cars. Numerous police officers had stopped him, asking him where he was going and he had shown them his D-Tector and the Z Licence that had been installed in it.  
"This is serious, Rapidmon," said Jenrya quietly, as he walked down the street to the elevator that would take him up to Level 3 and the Officials HQ. "They've never placed everyone under martial law before, not even when Hypnos was trying to hack into the military satellites."  
    "It does seem really bad," agreed Rapidmon from Jenrya's D-Tector. "Do you think what Hypnos has is worse than the Juggernaut Virus?" For a while, there was no reply and it made Rapidmon nervous. The silence was nerve racking. "Jenrya?"  
    "I'm not sure, Rapidmon," replied Jenrya with a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure." He suddenly stopped in his tracks, upon seeing a white jeep with UN plastered on its side. "Man, that's quick," said Jenrya, as he watched the jeeps drive past. The youth reasoned that they must have come from the nearby military base. "Guess they're already setting up the barricades and everything. We'd better hurry."  
    The dark-haired youth then ran along the streets, running towards the huge elevator that stretched from the floor up to the metallic ceiling above. There was no time to lose, he knew that.  


    The entire hall was filled with Officials and Reservists and somewhere in the crowd were Takato, Jenrya and Ruki.  
    Up on the stage were two men. One was Dr. Jiangyiu Lee, Jenrya's father and the other was Dr. Merzuno. Both wore very grave expressions on their face, as they looked at the assembled Officials and Reservists. This was a drastic time indeed, one not seen on the Orbital Space Ring since the terrorist activities of the Nova Organisation back in the awkward era of fighting when the Space Ring was first founded.  
    "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," greeted Dr. Lee, as he walked up to the podium. "I have called you here because of a drastic situation. As you may be aware, the Hypnos Organisation is back and it poses a great threat to our lives and our way of life." He paused for a second and then continued. "We have reason to believe that the Hypnos Organisation is planning on reviving a 'Beast' from old times in order to destroy the Digital World. To explain further, here is Dr. Merzuno, the Founder of the ShibuNet." Dr. Lee then stepped aside.  
    Dr. Merzuno took the podium.  
"Afternoon," he greeted abruptly. "Many of you may remember a terrible incident, eleven years ago, when a strange virus took over the Digital World and nearly destroyed it. That was no virus. It was a program created by Dr. Oikawa that somehow went beserk. It was called DAEMON, the Digitally Amalgamated Electronic Manager of Online Networks. You could think of it as a prototype Internet, which was supposed to be a better version to replace the then version of the Digital World."  
    "DAEMON went beserk, however, and absorbed all sorts of Programs and Digimon," continued Dr. Merzuno sternly. "DAEMON literally devoured everything. Due to certain restrictions, we could not destroy it, so we sealed it away in a large expansive area, the old pre-Apocalypse Internet that was invented in the late 20th Century AD. It was renamed ShibuNet, but you may have heard of it by another name, the DarkNet."  
    A murmur of voices then arose from the crowd. It started off quite then erupted into a roar of voices. A multitude of worried Reservists and Officials began shouting and all speaking at once. It was a tumultuous roar of gigantic proportions.  
    "Order! Order!" shouted Dr. Lee. "Please, may we have quiet!"  
    The entire hall fell into a deafening silence, as numerous faces turned to look at Dr. Lee and Dr. Merzuno.  
    Merzuno reached out and pressed a button on the podium and image appeared on the screen behind him. He stepped aside and then brought out a laser pointer.  
"Here is a diagram of the ShibuNet," stated Dr. Merzuno. "In the centre of it is the Dark Ocean where DAEMON is being held. Surrounding it is the Forbidden Account, where the only entrance to the Dark Ocean is located." He moved his pointer up and encircled the region with the laser. "The Forbidden Account can only be accessed via the main ShibuNet Servers located in a military base on the Moon."  
    He turned to face the multitude assembled in front of him.  
"That is why we need a few good Digimon Operators to go with Dr. Lee to the Lunar Base," continued Dr. Merzuno calmly. "The rest of you will be assigned special tasks and will be required to send your Digimon to strategic positions around the Forbidden Account shown by the red dots on this map. If DAEMON is released, you will be the Digital World's first line of defence. DAEMON will spread quickly if it is released, which is why you must be vigilant at all times and be prepared to fight..."  
    As Dr. Merzuno spoke, Jenrya turned round to whisper to Takato and Ruki.  
"My Dad's briefed me on what's going to happen," he told them. "Takato, you and Ruki are coming with me and my Dad to the Lunar Base. Your parents have already been notified of this decision."  
    "And Mom agreed on it?" exclaimed Takato in surprise.  
    "She had no other choice," replied Jenrya with a smile on his face and Takato smiled back. "After all, this is war. It's all of us against Hypnos."  
    Takato nodded in agreement. Yes, this was going to be a tough battle. It would be all of the Digital Society against the Hypnos Organisation and as long as he had breath in his body, he would not let Hypnos win. He would not let them release DAEMON on to the Digital World.  
    "Very well, you're all dismissed," finished Dr. Lee, before he walked down the stage and straight towards his son and his friends. "Jenrya, I want you and your friends to prepare for the trip. Remember, there'll be no rest stops on the way to the Lunar Base, and don't forget to take all the DMDs you think you'll need. This may be a tough mission." He sighed. "You know, at first, I wasn't too willing to let you kids go to the Lunar Base, but it seems that you've proved yourselves more than capable of fighting against Hypnos. Even though this may be the most dangerous mission you'll ever go on, I'm sure that you can all pull through."  
    Jenrya looked away with an almost embarrassed look on his face.  
"Dad, please," he said in an embarrassed tone of voice. "Not in front of my friends." He heard a laugh from Rapidmon. "Hey, it's not funny!" he protested.  
    Takato thought abou it.  
"Dr. Lee, I don't know about Ruki and Jenrya, but I'm ready," he told Jenrya's Father.  
    "That's the spirit!"  


    The surface of the Moon looked incredibly desolate and devoid of any military base at all. As Takato looked out of the window of the space shuttle, he couldn't help but wonder where the Lunar Base was. Was it hidden underneath all those moon rocks, hidden within a crater?  
    Below the surface opened up to reveal a hidden runway. The shuttle gently touched down and rolled to a slow halt, before the runway disappeared beneath the surface.  
    The door opened and Dr. Lee floated out wearing a black spacesuit which looked exactly like the Radiation Suit he wore during the Hypnos Incident at Phyle, two years ago. Four more followed him. One was Reiko Manun, the Operator of Uranekimon. The other three were Takato, Ruki and Jenrya.  
"Okay, you four go straight to the ShibuNet Servers," ordered Dr. Lee. "I'm going to talk to the Commanding Officer." He then floated off.  
    A soldier dressed in a white spacesuit floated up to the four.  
"You're the Officials?" asked the soldier. "Please, as a security measure, state your names and present your D-Tectors for inspection." He looked at them all carefully, scanning the D-Tectors for any hidden viruses. "Fine, thank you," he said. "Please, follow me." He then led them across the low gravity environment of the Lunar Base, taking gigantic leaps.  
    The soldier led them through a series of insanely protective security measures, past several armed soldiers and towards the room that contained the ShibuNet Servers. He gestured towards the middle one and asked them to plug their D-Tectors in. The soldier then stepped back slightly and watched them like a hawk, scrutinising their every move carefully.

* * * * *

    "Say, this is the place from my dreams!" stated Takato.  
    "Your what?" exclaimed Ruki in disbelief.  
    "Er... nothing," mumbled Takato.  
    Everything was black, save for the red lines that criss-crossed the place and formed a grid-like pattern on the floor. The floor and the ceiling were both the same, with red grid patterns on them. They looked like someone's diagram of the Universe and at certain points were these pillars that rose up from the floor and joined with the ceiling, looking for all the world like wormholes that connected the two planes together.  
    The place had a rather retro cyberpunk look to it, the sort dreamed up by people when the movie, Tron, gave people the best insight of what the inside of a computer would look like. This was the Forbidden Account, the Domain of the DarkKing, Ruler of all the DarkNet.  
    Uranekimon stood in front of the three Digimon behind her, looking around her.  
"This place seems real empty," she stated, as she brushed her platinum-coloured hair back. "Where's the security measures?"  
    "Halt!" cried a voice that roared around them. "Who dares trespass in the Realm of the DarkKing, MetalEtemon, Ruler of all the DarkNet?" A Digimon appeared in front of them and he had blue fur and armour on with a Chinese word painted on it. He had large fangs and stood on all fours. "I am Catsuramon, one of the Twelve Sentinels that guard the Forbidden Account. Identify yourselves or be deleted!"  
    "I am Uranekimon and I'm from the Officials," announced Uranekimon. "We are here to protect the Entrance to the Dark Ocean."  
    Catsuramon roared out in laughter.  
"You?" he chortled. "Do not lie to me. You have come to harm the King, haven't you? Well, I won't let you! Come, my bretheren! Join me and show these infidels the true might of the Twelve Sentinels!"  
    Eleven data streams flew down from the sky and struck the ground. When the light subsided, eleven Digimon appeared. Each one took on the form of one of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. There was a purple humanoid horse, a ram with a centaur appearance, a bull with a centaur appeance, a large shaggy boar, a rooster, a strange rat with spidery legs, a thin dragon, a monkey dressed in the uniform of an Imperial Chinese soldier from the bygone days of Imperial China, a large rabbit with pink-tipped ears, a snake and a tiger.  
    "There is no escape for you now, infidels," stated Catsuramon calmly. "Those that enter the Forbidden Account must be deleted. Those are the orders of the DarkKing!"  
    Gallantmon stepped forward bravely.  
"Look, we didn't come to overthrow your DarkKing," protested Gallantmon. "We're genuinely here to help you protect the Entrance to the Dark Ocean. A group calling themselves Hypnos has managed to get all the TetraKeys and are trying to awaken DAEMON."  
    The rabbit Digimon, Antylamon, not related to the one that had attacked the space shuttle two years ago stepped forward from her bretheren.  
"I have heard of this Hypnos," stated Antylamon calmly. "They have surrounded the Forbidden Account and have been besieging this Domain for quite some time. You say that they have the TetraKeys?"  
    "That's right," replied Rapidmon with a nod of his head. "They're planning to use them to release DAEMON."  
    "Nonsense," cried the bull Digimon. "They could be from this Hypnos themselves, here to trick us!" The bull Digimon, Vajiramon, unsheathed his swords. "I say we delete them now!"  
    Taomon braced herself. She was ready for a fight and she knew that Ruki was ready to help her out.  
"Look, El Toro, we don't want any trouble from you," protested Taomon in the most disrespectful manner she could manage. "All we wish is to prevent DAEMON from being released. Are you not also Protectors of the Entrance to the Dark Ocean? Our goals are one and the same and we are here to help you!"  
    A smirk spread across Vajiramon's face.  
"You are a pretty one and your words match your beauty," commented Vajiramon, "yet I still do not believe you. Prove yourself to us or perish."  
    The ground suddenly shook violently. No, it wasn't just the ground. It was the entire DarkNet. The very fabric of reality seemed to blur and become blocky. It was like the Mother of All Earthquakes and it was happening in the Digital World, a place where such things as earthquakes did not exist.  
    "No!" cried Takato in sudden realisation. "It's him! He's coming!"  
    "Who?" cried Ruki.  
    "Beelzemon," stated Takato sternly.  
    The ground began to crackle with electricity and a vortex made from the darkest of energies appeared. Beelzemon rose out of it, glowing from the light of his UltraBarrier. There was an evil smirk on his face, as he turned round.  
"Oh, it's you lot," he exclaimed in surprise. "I never thought I'd see you here in the Forbidden Account." He turned round and smiled upon seeing the horse Digimon. "Ah, Indramon, I see you're here too."  
    "How did you get in here, foul beast?" cried Indramon angrily.  
    "Does it really matter?" asked Beelzemon. "All that matters now is that I get what I came for." He raised his right fist into the air and it began to glow. "And I'm not goin' to let you get in my way! Multiple Impact!" He spread his arms out and sent several bolts of energy flying outwards from him in a highly unpredictable pattern.  
    None were left standing.

**_To be continued..._**


	15. File 14: Run Around

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

File 14: Run Around  
    "W_k_ _p, Gall__t_on! Wa__ up, _allant_on!" Then there was static.  
    Gallantmon clutched at his head, as he rose back up from the ground. He looked around him and saw that the 12 Sentinels had disappeared as had Uranekimon. Only Taomon remained unconscious beside him.  
"Urgh, what hit me?" he wondered out loud, as he staggered back up to his feet. "Takato?" He heard no reply from Takato. "Takato!" he shouted out loudly. "Takato!"

* * * * *

    "It's no good," protested Takato, as he pressed frantically on his D-Tector. "My D-Tector won't respond." He looked at the screen on the underside of the D-Tector's lid. It showed him a clear image of Gallantmon, but he couldn't hear the Digimon and the Digimon couldn't hear him. "Gallantmon, go to the firewall! Gallantmon, listen to me, you've got to help Uranekimon and the Sentinels to defend the Entrance!"

* * * * *

    Beelzemon grabbed Vajiramon by the horns and swung the Digimon around him, before letting go and flinging the Sentinel far away from him.  
"Pathetic fools," he sneered, before he turned round to the firewall. He closed his eyes and smiled, lowering his head. "Now to grab me my reward!" He delved into his pockets and with a flourish, he threw them up into the air and kept his arms raised in the air, his fingers outstretched. "Now, Firewall of the Four Guardians, open!"  
    The TetraKeys circled his head, glowing brightly with the exception of the Black Tortoise TetraKey. As they circled above his head, they slow moved in towards each other, closing the distance between them. They merged into one key, as a keyhole appeared in the firewall. The key floated over to the keyhole and inserted itself in the keyhole and turned. The energy bars that made up the firewall flickered one last time and then disappeared.  
    Antylamon suddenly rushed towards the entrance and blocked Beelzemon's way. She spread her arms out, as she glared at him impassively.  
"You're not getting past me, foul demon," she told him sternly. "I serve the DarkKing, the Ultimate Ruler of the DarkNet. This is his Domain that you have befouled, demon, and you shall pay for your acts."  
    "Fool!" laughed Beelzemon out loud. "Do you really think that pompous monkey is the True Ruler of the DarkNet? You know nothing, girl." A smile spread across his face. "There are others far more powerful than your precious DarkKing. You know nothing of true power, little rabbit. Nothing! Now out of my way!" He rushed straight at her and grabbed her by the throat, swinging her aside as if she was a small rag doll.  
    Beelzemon then floated through the open gateway and out of the Forbidden Account and into the Dark Ocean, the centre of the ShibuNet. He looked around him and saw that the place had a night sky. Beelzemon looked down and saw that he was floating above a wooden pier that had been built into the waters of the ocean.  
"How literal," he said to himself, as he looked around him. He chuckled, as he floated down a wooden path and made his way towards the centre of the Dark Ocean where DAEMON was inevitably going to be.  


    "Come on, Taomon, Rapidmon, wake up!" cried Gallantmon, as he knelt on the floor beside her. "You've got to wake up!" He sighed angrily, smashing a clenched fist into the floor angrily. "Wake up, darn it!" he shouted. Deep down, he was crying. He feared that Taomon was gone, that he had lost her forever. "Come on, wake up. Please? Please, wake up."  
    Tears streamed from his eyes, as he knelt beside the still bodies of Taomon. It seemed as if she was gone for good. It seemed as if he would never see their smiles again and never hear their voices.  
"Please, don't leave us," pleaded Gallantmon. "What about Ruki? She needs you too. Don't give up. You can't give up, not now, not after all we've been through."  
    A single tear dripped from his helmet and dropped onto Taomon's furry face. It was followed by a second, a third and then a fourth.  
    Taomon began to stir. The muscles on her face began to twitch and slowly, her eyelids moved.  
"Gallantmon," she murmured weakly, as her eyes opened slowly. "What... What happened?" She propped herself as best as she could, even though she felt quite weak.  
    "Taomon, you're all right," said Gallantmon, a smile appearing on his face, though hidden by his helmet. "You're all right!"  
    A smile spread across Taomon's face.  
"Yeah, I'm all right," she said with a nod of her head, as she slowly got back up to her feet. "Where's Beelzemon and the others?"  
    "I'm not sure," replied Gallantmon with a shake of his head. "I've tried contacting Takato, but he can't seem to hear me." He couldn't quite understand why Takato couldn't hear him. Perhaps the D-Tector was infected with viruses again? No, perhaps it wasn't that. Perhaps it had something to do with the damage that Beelzemon must have inflicted on him. "Can you contact Ruki?" he asked curiously.  
    He saw Taomon falter and reached out to catch her, to prevent her from hitting the ground.  
"Are you all right?" asked Gallantmon concernedly. "You don't look too good. Perhaps you should log out right now." However, he had a feeling that if she logged out, the task of defeating Beelzemon would be made far more difficult. Yet, Taomn didn't look as if she was capable of fighting.  
    "I'll be... fine," replied Taomon breathlessly. She tried to throw Gallantmon's supporting arm away, but soon realised that she was too weak. "Perhaps, you're right," she agreed with him. "I should log out. Ruki!" There was silence. There was no reply. "Ruki!" She listened but heard no reply. "I don't understand it. Why won't she reply?"  
    Carefully, Taomon thought about what could have happened. Had Beelzemon's attack been so devestating that it had made communication with her Operator impossible? That could have been it. Her D-Tector had once been so damaged that she couldn't communicate with Ruki and had to be transferred to a new D-Tector. Was this one of those times?  
    "T__mon!" called out a voice that seemed distorted and garbled. "Taomon!" it came out again, crystal clear. "Taomon, can you hear me?"  
    "Yes, Ruki," replied Taomon with a nod of her head. She was relieved. Ruki finally managed to get through. "I can hear you."  
    Ruki sighed in relief.  
"You have no idea how long I've been trying to contact you guys," she sighed. "Uranekimon has gone with the Twelve to the Entrance of the Dark Ocean. Beelzemon has already brought down the firewall and is inside. You two had better get going! Rapidmon's already on his way there."  
    Gallantmon and Taomon turned to look ahead and then ran for it across the floor, running around a few pillars. Their way was not hindered by viruses, which suggested just how secure the Forbidden Account really was. Not even viruses could get into the Forbidden Account, let alone Digimon, so how did Beelzemon do it? Was he that powerful? If so, then they feared what they would find when they reached the firewall.  
    "You guys had better hurry," called out Takato. "Beelzemon has already come back out of the Dark Ocean and he's got the DAEMON Program in his hands. Looks pretty small for a devestating program."  
    "Don't be deceived, even small things can be dangerous," Reiko warned Takato.  
    "Wait, I see him up ahead!" cried out Gallantmon, as he approached the battle scene.  
    Taomon couldn't believe her eyes. The Sentinels were strewn across the place, all of them unconscious.  
"This is nuts!" she exclaimed. "Beelzemon can't be that powerful!"  
    "He probably is," stated Gallantmon sternly. "That's why we've got to delete him now!"  
    Beelzemon saw the Digimon approach him and smiled.  
"I'm sorry," he called out to them, as they ran up to him. "You're too late to stop me now." He chuckled to himself, as looked down at a certain Digimon lying on the ground below him. "Your friend was kind of a push over. I wiped the floor with his butt so easily it was a joke."  
    "Beelzemon, this is the end!" cried out Gallantmon, as his right arm changed into a lance. "We're going to delete you right now and end your tyranny!"  
    "Oh, you want to play, is that it?" laughed Beelzemon insanely. "Well, I don't think so, tin-boy. I've got lots to do, but once I'm through with my errands I'll come back and play. Matter of fact, I'll play with the entire human race and destroy all the hairless monkeys." He laughed out loud, as a data stream struck him and enveloped him, before plucking him out of the Forbidden Account.

* * * * *

    "Darn it!" cried Takato angrily. "We were so close!" He hit the side of the ShibuNet Servers angrily. Takato felt so angry, but mainly at himself. He and Gallantmon could have engaged Beelzemon in battle and delete him before he could escape. They could have prevented him from taking DAEMON with him. "That coward! Why'd he run away like that? Why didn't he release DAEMON then and there?"  
    "I can tell you why."  
    Takato and the others turned round to face the doorway and saw Dr. Lee standing there. It could be seen clearly through his helmet that the scientist had a solemn expression on his face, as he slowly made his way across the floor.  
    "DAEMON's code isn't compatible with today's version of the Digital World," stated Dr. Lee calmly. "Beelzemon has to take it away and have someone upgrade DAEMON and I suspect that the only person in the Hypnos Organisation that can do that is Dr. Yamaki himself." He sighed, as he thought about it. If Yamaki could upgrade DAEMON then they would all be in big trouble. "You might as well pull your D-Tectors out now. There's no point in staying in the Forbidden Account."  
    Jenrya looked down-hearted, as did the others.  
"So, Hypnos has won?" asked Jenrya curiously. He sounded incredibly worried and he had good reason to do so. If Hypnos won then that would be the end of their society as they knew it. He cradled his D-Tector and looked at Rapidmon's stats. A few patch programs would heal Rapidmon and make him as good as new again.  
    "No," replied Takato loudly all of a sudden. "They can't have won!" he protested. "As long as we're together, we can fight against DAEMON and stop Yamaki's twisted plans. I know we can do it. There's nothing we can't do as long as we stick together. No matter what they destroy, we can always rebuild it."  
    Dr. Lee chuckled.  
"In a way, Takato's right," he told them. "Hypnos won't win. When Beelzemon escaped the Dark Ocean, I managed to track him down. Thanks to him, I know where Hypnos' latest base is. It's in an abandoned space station halfway between the Orbital Space Ring and the Moon. Don't worry. I've informed the UN and they're building up a military force to attack Hypnos HQ. They'll be able to strike before Yamaki can upgrade DAEMON."  
    Ruki unplugged her D-Tector.  
"So, Dr. Lee, does that mean it's over?" she asked him curiously. She hoped that it was all over and that the nightmare was finally done with.  
    "If everything goes according to plan, then yes, it will all be over," replied Dr. Lee. "All we can do now is wait and see what happens." Deep down, however, he had a feeling that things wouldn't be that simple. Somehow, he had this feeling that things were going to get worse. Yet, he couldn't tell them that. There was no point in getting their hopes down. "Now come on. Let's go home."  
    Takato looked back at the ShibuNet Servers and then he carefully logged Gallantmon and unplugged his D-Tector. The youth had a gut feeling that things were going to get worse.  
"Gallantmon," he said, lifting the D-Tector up so that he could see the image of Gallantmon's face on the D-Tector screen, "I think it'd probably be best if we trained tonight, you know, just in case something does happen and we're needed again. What do you think?"  
    "It's not a bad idea," agreed Gallantmon.  
    "Seems as if you've come up with a great idea for once, Takato," chuckled Ruki, who had overheard the youth. "I'll be training Taomon too, so don't think you'll be all alone with this." She paused a while and then gave him a devious smile. "Why don't you come round to my house and we can train our Digimon together?"  
    "Yeah, I'd like that," replied Takato with a nod of his head.  


    The UN Commander looked at the soldiers marching towards the troop transporter. In all his years, he had never ever been a part of such a big operation. In fact, if he remembered his history correctly, there hadn't been a single military operation like this since the destruction of the tyrannical EVA Organisation in the year PA085 and that was quite a long time ago.  
    It looked like this new century would be seeing its first ever war and somehow, he just couldn't wait.  
    There was suddenly a violent sound of gunfire and the soldiers all dived for cover. Bullets flew through the air, spraying the walls. There was a powerful explosion as one of the fuel barrels was hit. It set off a chain of reaction, as fuel barrel after fuel barrel got caught in the ball of fire that erupted from each previous barrel.  
    "What the Heck is going on here?" shouted the UN Commander.  
    "The robots are going beserk!" came the reply from one of the soldiers. "We can't get near enough to them to fix the problem!"  
    Suddenly, a klaxon wailed through the military base. The UN Commander had had enough. He ran as fast as he could towards the Control Room, keeping as low as possible to avoid being hit by stray gunfire from the special robotic tanks. The Captain suddenly skidded to a halt. He saw one of the grey tanks marching straight towards him.  
    The tank was supported on caterpillar tracks and had a round, bulbous head with yellow, dot-like eyes and strange purple markings on it. It also had two arms that looked like deformed foxglove flowers, but which concealed machine guns. The machine rolled forward and then opened fire.  


    "This is Rosa Maridonna reporting to you live from New Barcelona, Inphynitio," announced the reporter on the television set. "Military tanks all over the world have suddenly gone beserk, attacking the soldiers that operate them. An official UN spokesperson has stated that they do not know the exact cause for this, yet they suspect Hypnos. The tanks, designed by the former Official, Dr. Mitsuo Yamaki, before he left the Officials to form the Hypnos Organisation..."  
    Dr. Lee switched off the television set and then turned back to look at his desk. He sighed.  
"It's happening all over again," he muttered under his breath. "It'll only be a matter of time before DAEMON gets to the missiles. That blasted program might just start off a World War, as if the Space Ring War wasn't bad enough. And I thought that it was dangerous the last time it escaped."  
    "Don't worry, Tal," said Dr. Merzuno, using Dr. Lee's nickname. "We still have an ace up our sleeve in the form of your son and his friends. They'll be able to stop Hypnos in its tracks. Only their Digimon are powerful enough to delete DAEMON." He saw the look of hesitation on Dr. Lee's face and then laughed. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of them."  
    "You're going to the Hypnos Base?" asked Dr. Lee curiously.  
    "That's right, Tal," replied Dr. Merzuno with a nod of his head. "Beelzemon is there, isn't he? He is my responsibility. I created him and I must put a stop to his demented plans."  
    Dr. Lee reached for his phone.  
"You call Ms. Manun. I'll call my son," he announced. "We'll also need some UN Troops to protect them. Do we know anyone from the UN that can help with that?" He certainly hoped that they could assemble them all together before Yamaki could finally finish decoding DAEMON and release the finalised version on to the Digital World.  


    Yamaki smiled, as he stood in the great hall. He had installed several seats in the hallway and each of them were connected up by wires to the machine in front of him. There was one seat installed in it and above was a huge glass sphere with electricity crackling inside it like one of those Static Spheres you get from novelty shops.  
    The old man climbed a flight of stairs that led up to the seat and sat down in it calmly, placing his arms on the padded arm rests and leaning back. He sighed contentedly. It wouldn't be long before DAEMON was finally completely decoded. Once it was, all he had to do was convince Beelzemon to break the Four Seals that kept DAEMON dormant. Then and only then, would his dreams come true.  
    "Reiley," he said, even though there was no one there. "Reiley, though the UN Military can no longer invade, I am sure that that Matsuda boy and his friends will try to come here and stop me. See to it that they do not." Yamaki smiled, as he sat there underneath the huge glass orb above him. "See to it that they don't even get past the front door. They must not interfere with my plans again like they did with the Juggernaut Virus and with the Dragon Syndicate. Do anything in your power to stop them, even if it means sucking them out into the cold, airless vacuum of space."

**_To be continued..._**


	16. File 15: Fly High

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

Author's Note: The final act is about to begin. I have decided against creating the fourth Digimon.EXE fanfic as I promised, however, fans of this series will receive a Digimon.EXE timeline featuring information on the Digimon.EXE Universe, events that occur in between the fanfics and info on what would have happened in the fourth fanfic. Only fans that have reviewed all three Digimon.EXE fanfics will receive the timeline. I hope you enjoyed the Digimon.EXE Series.

* * * * *

File 15: Fly High  
    Juri sighed, as she looked out of the hospital window and up at the night sky. Behind her was the snoring of her father, whom lay asleep in a chair beside her bed. It seemed that she was the only one awake, though that was not quite true.  
"The stars shine so brightly tonight," commented Juri.  
    "Yeah, they do," agreed Leomon.  
    "You know, up there amongst those twinkling stars is the Orbital Space Ring, our home," stated Juri sadly, as she looked up skywards. "Up there in all that beauty is where the fighting will start. What if by the time I'm allowed out of hospital, our home is gone?"  
    "Juri?"  
    The girl turned round, taking her D-Tector from the window sill. She walked over the cold, tiled floor and climbed back into the hospital bed.  
"I was thinking about Takato," continued Juri quietly. "He's up there too and so our friends. Will they be hurt by the fighting?" Silence followed her question. "Oh, why does Hypnos want to destroy our world so badly? Don't they have to live in it too? It's their world as much as ours."  
    Juri thought bitterly about the time she had been threatened by Hypnos to do their bidding. She had almost ended up killing Takato then. Why did it have to be this way? Why did suffering always have to be a constant that humanity would never shake off?  
    "Human beings are strange," stated Leomon calmly and thoughtfully. "They're capable of evils that even a devil wouldn't think up of, yet they're also capable of generosity that no angel would attempt. Human beings are poised between the Devils of Hell and the Angels of Heaven, yet at the same time, they are the Devils and they are the Angels all wrapped up in one." He paused for a while to think up of what to say next, how to make his point even clearer to her. "It doesn't have to be this way, but if we continue with petty revenge like Yamaki does, the cycle of suffering will never be broken. Devils beget devils. I guess, that's the way this world works."  
    "Oh, Leomon," sighed Juri quietly. "I hope Takato and the others'll be all right."  
    "They will," stated Leomon reassuringly. "If anybody can stop Hypnos, it's Takato and his friends."  


    Though the Orbital Space Ring was the result of joining several space stations together and in the end fortifying them, there were those spaces stations and satellites that could not be joined to the Space Ring. These were clumped together to form the Military Outposts, whereas some were forgotten altogether.  
    The Space Station that was Hypnos HQ was one of those forgotten space stations. It consisted of two space stations joined together and each had a tower in the middle that stretched skywards. The thing was like a space station version of the twin towers in West Shinjuku that Takato had visited with his friends back when Hypnos had attempted to attack the Earth's Environmental Disaster Prevention System.  
    Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, the Hypnos Base had air inside it. Space suits were not necessary inside the space station, as they made Takato and company made their way up from the hangars.  
    Dr. Lee and Dr. Merzuno had managed to scrounge up a couple of UN Soldiers to protect them. The entire band was made up of five UN soldiers, Reiko Manun, Alice McCoy, Jenrya Lee, Ryo Akiyama, Ruki Makino, Dr. Merzuno and Takato Matsuda himself. There was also another with them, something called Determination.  
    They had ended up inside a small room with one chair and an elevator. The elevator's doors remained sealed shut tightly and no one could pry them open. There didn't seem to be anything they could plug their D-Tectors into, only the chair with padded back rest and arm rests. Wires trailed from it and connected up to the large computer to the side of the room. Connected to the chair was what a helmet, making the thing look like one of those special chairs they have in a hairdressers.  
    "Wow, it's been ages since I've seen one of these," said Dr. Merzuno as he looked at the chair carefully.  
    "What is it?" asked Jenrya curiously.  
    Dr. Merzuno sat down in the chair and found that it was rather comfortable.  
"It's a Biofeedback Headset," replied Dr. Merzuno. "I think your Grandfather invented this piece of technology, although it looks as if Yamaki's made some improvements. It allows us to 'jack in' to the Digital World, enter it, as if we were really there." He pulled the helmet down over his head. "You're not physically there, but to all intents and purposes, you feel as if you're there."  
    "Wait," protested Jenrya. "You're not actually going to use that thing are you?" The thing reminded him more of an electric chair than anything else and he feared that Dr. Merzuno could get electrocuted if he used it.  
    "This thing's connected to the base's computer system," stated Merzuno calmly. "If I use it, I can get the elevator working again." He then flicked a switch. "I'll be back soon," he told them, before the machine activated.

* * * * *

    The floor of the Hypnos Computer Network. This floated in a black screensaver with the Hypnos symbol floating in a bottom-left to top-right direction.  
    A white data stream struck the metallic floor and as the light subsided it revealed Dr. Merzuno, who glowed with a slightly golden aura. He looked around him, seeing his surroundings and saw a console not too far away from him. The human made his way across the metallic floor carefully, his shoes making an echo sound around him as he walked up to the console. He looked over it carefully and then pressed a few buttons. That should do the trick.  
    There was a laugh and Dr. Merzuno spun round. He backed up against the console in shock.  
"You!" he cried out.  
    A smile spread across Beelzemon's face, as he floated in front of Dr. Merzuno.  
"Hello, Dad," he greeted sarcastically. "So nice of you to come and visit after all these years. How long has it been, hm? Six? Seven years? Eleven?" He clenched his fist tightly, as he advanced towards Dr. Merzuno. "Eleven years alone in the DarkNet with nothing but vicious viruses as company. Do you know how many Digimon and viruses have attempted to delete me?"  
    "You must stop this, Beelzemon," said Dr. Merzuno with a shake of his head. "You cannot continue like this."  
    "Oh and why not, human?" asked Beelzemon, saying the word, 'human', spitefully. "You humans are all alike. It's time for all of your kind to be judged. In the past eleven years, I have become as powerful as a God, and soon I shall become even more powerful! Powerful enough to eradicate you human vermin." His smile widened, as he brought out his two guns and aimed them at Dr. Merzuno. "And you, Dr. Merzuno, shall be the first to be judged."  
    Dr. Merzuno could not believe that his creation was acting this way. It made him regret ever creating I.M.P.M.O.N.  
"No, you will not destroy the human race, Beelzemon," protested Dr. Merzuno. "I won't let you!"  
    Beelzemon laughed at Dr. Merzuno's comment. He had never heard such a thing.  
"Oh, and what can a weak, worthless human like you do, huh?" he half-asked, half-shouted at his creator. A bulge formed in the back of his back and two wings, with feathers as black as night, spread out behind him. "I am the Angel that shall cleanse the world of you human scum!"  
    "You underestimate what humans can do, Beelzemon," called out Dr. Merzuno, as he raised his hands up in the air. A golden sphere of energy formed above his hands. "I created you and I can just as easily delete you."  
    Beelzemon merely laughed in response before he attacked.

* * * * *

    "It's worked!" exclaimed Ruki, as the elevator doors opened.  
    The entire chair suddenly sparked viciously and Dr. Merzuno's entire body convulsed once, twice and then three more times. More sparks flew and the equipment burst into flames, as Dr. Merzuno slumped unconsciously into the chair. The UN soldiers quickly covered their hands with insulative material, before pulling him out of the flaming wreckage.  
    "Will he be all right?" asked Ryo concernedly, as he walked up to them.  
    Alice quickly checked his pulse.  
"He's still alive," she said. "We need to get him to a medic and quick." She looked at the soldiers and then realised that they needed to stay with Takato and the others. "I'll take him back to the shuttle."  
    "I'll go with you," volunteered Ryo.  
    Reiko nodded in agreement, before she turned to one of the soldiers.  
"You, go with them," she ordered. "The rest of you, follow me."  
    Takato looked as Ryo and the soldier helped Alice take Dr. Merzuno back. He wanted to go with them, to make sure that the scientist was all right, but deep down he knew that he had other things to do. They all had something just as important to do and that was to ensure that Hypnos' twisted plans were stopped. He nodded silently in agreement with Reiko and followed her into the lift.  
    It was slightly cramped, but they all managed to fit. The doors closed and the elevator carriage went upwards, taking them up through the Hypnos Base. It stopped and the doors slid open. The soldiers were the first to step out, scannning the area for any danger with their bare eyes, but they couldn't see any. They gestured for the others to come out.  
    The corridor they were in branched off into several other corridors, each leading in different directions. In each one, there were a number of doors that led to... somewhere.  
    "I think we should split up," said Jenrya decidedly after evaluating the situation. "We should each go in a separate direction and keep in contact with our D-Tectors." He then suggested that they should keep the phone function switched on at all times, and thus turn their D-Tectors into walkie-talkies.  
    "Good idea," agreed Reiko with a nod of her head. "We should go off in twos, one soldier and one Reservist. That would be the best plan." She then suggested which directions they were to each take and they then went off their separate ways.  
    Ruki couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. The soldier she was with had a gruff look to him and seemed like the sort that would... No, she tried not to think of that. That soldier wouldn't betray her trust, would he? She hoped not. Still, she kept an eye on him, just in case. It was better to be safe than sorry, after all.  
    A machine suddenly appeared in front of them. It was shaped like one of the robotic tanks that the UN still used, which was fair enough. The machines were designed by Yamaki and he was the Head of the Hypnos Organisation. It turned to face them and then opened fire, spraying fire in their general direction.  
    The soldier and Ruki leapt in separate directions, narrowly avoiding being toasted to a crisp.  
    "That was a close one," sighed Ruki. Her breath was heavy and her heart was beating so fast, it could have leapt straight out of her chest. Never had she been so scared in her life. "Sakuyamon," she said to her Digimon, "do you think you can switch it off?"  
    Sakuyamon, who had digivolved to her Mega Level last night, didn't reply for a while.  
"Perhaps," she finally managed to say. "I could give it a shot."  
    Ruki saw the modified tank turn to face her. She swore and scrambled to her feet, leaping out of the way moments before flames arced through the air and turned the metallic wall red hot. The auburn-haired girl turned her head to see the tank turn to face her again.  
"We need a distraction!" she called out to the soldier. "Grab its attention, so we can get to its Log In Port!"  


    Ruki wasn't the only one that was having troubles with modified tanks. Jenrya was dealing with a tank that had been modified to shoot razor sharp icicles. Takato was dealing with a tank that had fully functioning drills attached to it. They were all having difficulties getting to the Log In Port.  
    "It's no use," sighed Takato, between gasps for air. He had been running from the tank for quite some time and he had been unable to get close enough to its log in port to deal with it. "What we need is a distraction."  
    The tank turned once again to stare down at Takato. It charged at the youth.  
    The soldier, that had accompanied Takato, rushed in and pushed the youth out of the way. He then himself rolled out of the way of the spinning drills and whipped out his own D-Tector. The soldier rushed to the Log In Port and slammed his D-Tector in. He struggled to use his D-Tector, as the tank spun round in an attempt to throw him off, yet he kept going. As it spun round, he ran round it and pressed the buttons on his D-Tector.  


    Ruki saw the opportunity, as the UN Corporal grappled with the flame-throwing tank as best as he could. He was holding reasonably still for her.  
"Thanks! I owe you one!" she called out quickly, as she rushed towards the Log In Port. She connected her D-Tector to the tank. "Sakuyamon.EXE Log In!"

* * * * *

    A data stream fell through the sky and struck the metallic ground. As the light subsided it revealed Sakuyamon clad in golden armour.  
    In front of Sakuyamon was a maze of paths, each with paths that branched off the main paths and ended shortly soon after. Floating in set patterns above these paths were strange objects that looked like a cross between a UFO and a metallic claw. Well, there was nothing for it. She would have to traverse the paths. She didn't get very far, however, before something red leapt at her.  
    Sakuyamon leapt back and stared at it. It was a strange virus that was made out of a red blob. The surface was reddish-purple and shone like a slick of oil. It had one eye in the middle of its forehead, two blobby arms and on its head was a metallic helmet of some sort.  
"What is that?" wondered Sakuyamon out loud.  
    "No idea, but you'd better delete it quick," came Ruki's reply.  
    "Right," agreed Sakuyamon, as she held her staff firmly.  
    The blob-like virus suddenly leapt through the air and attached itself to Sakuyamon's head. To Sakuyamon, it felt as if the thing was trying to devour her whole. Could this be DAEMON or a part of DAEMON? She tried her best to shake it off, but found it almost impossible. It held on too tightly, as if its very survival depended on attaching itself to her.  
    "Sakuyamon, hold on, I've got a Burner DMD," called out Ruki. She used it.  
    Seconds later, Sakuyamon's body burst into flames and roasted the red blob like creature. It flew off her head and then she leapt straight at it. She thrust her golden staff straight through its body.  
"No, this can't be!" protested Sakuyamon, as she saw the strange virus look up at her. "It's still intact!" She pulled her staff out and watched as the hole shrank and disappeared, as the virus healed itself. "Well, let's see if you can handle this! Spirit Strike!"  
    Four spirits of elemental energy, each shaped like a fox, flew through the air and struck the strange virus. Nothing happened.  
    Whilst preoccupied with the virus, she did not notice the strange UFO-shaped program flying closer to her. Only when it overshadowed her, did she noticed. Sakuyamon leapt out of the way, as the UFO-shaped ProtectGrab Program lunged down at her and tried to grab her with its thick metallic claws.  
    The strange virus leapt through the air in an attempt to grab her again.  
    This time, Sakuyamon was ready for it. She spun round and kicked at it, sending it flying into the ProtectGrab.  
"Spirit Strike!" The Digimon let fly with her powerful attack, which hit the ProtectGrab. It exploded, taking out the blob-like virus.  
    "Sakuyamon, I don't know what you did, but you did it!" cried Ruki all of a sudden. "The tank's stopped. I'm logging you out right now."

* * * * *

    Ruki unplugged her D-Tector from the now dormant tank.  
"Are you all right, Sakuyamon?" she asked her Digimon first.  
    "I'm fine," came the reply from Sakuyamon. "What about you?"  
    "Well, this stupid hunk of junk did singe my hair a little," admitted Ruki in a joking manner, "but apart from that, I'm fine." A thought suddenly occurred to her. "I wonder how Takato and Jenrya are doing?" It wouldn't have surprised her if they were dealing with tanks too. If so, then they would need her help. "We've got to go back and help the others," she said to the UN Corporal and to her Digimon.  
    "But we've been expressly ordered to go split up," protested the soldier.  
    Ruki ignored his comment.  
"You've also been ordered to accompany me," she retorted. "Now are you going to stay here or are you going to follow me back? Your choice. Personally, I'd think it'd be best if you went and helped keep me safe, don't you?" She turned round without giving him a chance to reply to her comment and then walked away.  
    The Corporal thought about his orders. There was no other thing for it. He had to follow her and keep her safe. He sighed angrily.  
"Hey!" he called out to her. "You'd better wait up or you're going to be sorry!" He then ran after her.

**_To be continued..._**


	17. File 16: Three Primary Colours

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

Author's Note: The final act is about to begin. I have decided against creating the fourth Digimon.EXE fanfic as I promised, however, fans of this series will receive a Digimon.EXE timeline featuring information on the Digimon.EXE Universe, events that occur in between the fanfics and info on what would have happened in the fourth fanfic. Only fans that have reviewed all three Digimon.EXE fanfics will receive the timeline. I hope you enjoyed the Digimon.EXE Series.

* * * * *

File 16: Three Primary Colours  
    Takato pulled his D-Tector out of the now dormant tank, its drills now stuck in the metallic wall.  
    "Are you all right, Takato?" asked Gallantmon curiously.  
    "I'm fine," replied Takato, as he hooked his D-Tector to the waistband of his trousers. "What about you, Gallantmon?"  
    "A bit tired, but I'm okay," was Gallantmon's abrupt reply.  
    "That was some nice work, kid," praised the soldier, as he patted Takato on the back. "You disabled that thing like a pro."  
    Takato felt a little bit smug with himself. He was getting quite good and all the praise was starting to get to his head. The only thing that prevented his head from inflating with his ego was Ruki's bitingly sardonic comments.  
"Thanks," he said gratefully. That was when he heard a cry of help from his D-Tector. It didn't come from Gallantmon. It sounded more like... "Jenrya's in trouble!" he exclaimed.  


    "Don't you come any closer," warned the UN soldier, as he pointed the gun at Jenrya's head. He was the very same soldier that had accompanied Reiko, but now he was with Jenrya and glaring threateningly at his former companion. "Come any closer and I put a hole in this kid's head."  
    "What's Hypnos paying you?" asked Jenrya scathingly. "Well? What's Hypnos paying you that makes you betray your own comrades?"  
    "Shut up!" shouted the UN soldier, as he pressed the gun closer to Jenrya's forehead. "And don't you even think of going through that door," added the UN soldier and secret Hypnos Agent. "If you do, this kid won't live to see another day."  
    Takato was closer to Jenrya than Ruki and so had arrived sooner than her. However, he had remained silent as he approached Jenrya. He didn't make a noise and so the Hypnos Agent and former UN soldier did not hear him coming. A thought occurred to Takato.  
"Don't," he said, as he put an arm in front of the UN soldier that accompanied him. "I've got an idea. Gallantmon, you're going to help us get that guy."  
    "Huh? How?" asked Gallantmon in a confused tone of voice.  
    A devious smile spread across Takato's face and if Gallantmon saw it, he would not have liked it. Takato just hoped that his plan was good enough.  
"Now! Gallantmon, attack!" he cried, before throwing his D-Tector through the air.  
    The shout did the trick. The soldier turned round, but not quickly enough. The D-Tector flew through the air and smacked him in the head. Seconds later, the Hypnos Agent crashed to the floor unconscious and was followed by Takato's D-Tector.  
    "Urgh, that was not a good idea," moaned Gallantmon, who felt as if he had just been on a roller coaster that had travelled at the speed of light. He had turned a slight shade of green underneath that helmet, but seeing as Digimon didn't eat, he didn't barf.  
    Jenrya looked behind him and kicked the gun away from the unconscious Hypnos agent's hands.  
"Thanks, Takato," he said, as he bent down and picked up Takato's D-Tector. "Gallantmon, you all right?"  
    "I'll be fine once the spinning stops," was Gallantmon's reply.  
    That was when the entire base began to shake violently, making them all look around. The groan of strained metal echoed all around them, as they stood there.  
"Primary defence breached," announced a feminine voice over the PA System, as klaxons screamed all around them. "Initiating secondary defence. All Hypnos personnel evacuate Floors 3 to 6. Repeat, all Hypnos personnel evacuate Floors 3 to 6." There was suddenly a terrifying sound as of metal buckling and being torn to shreds.  
    "I don't like the sound of that," stated Takato, as he looked around him. "We'd better get going."  
    The floor suddenly shook and opened up straight down the middle, to reveal that it could slide away. They looked down the crack and saw that the floors below were also opening up. Those that looked over the crack also felt a slight suction. Hypnos was opening up the base to the environment outside, possibly in an attempt to suck them out of the base and into oblivion.  
    "Run for it!" cried Jenrya.  
    The two soldiers grabbed the unconscious traitor and lifted him up between the two of them. They then ran after the kids.  
    All over the lower sectors of the Hypnos Base, walls, ceilings and floors were opening up slowly and methodically. Even though it seemed that the base was opening up randomly, it was doing so in a methodical manner. How they were doing so was another matter altogether, but the fact remained that they were opening up. If they didn't hurry, they would be caught up in the ensuing vacuum that would suck them out. Without space suits, they would surely die.  
    Behind them, the floor was beginning to open up. Panels were sliding away, some incredibly quickly.  
    One such panel slid away with such speed, it left a one metre gap in front of Takato, nearly tricking him into falling through. He almost fell through, had he not leapt at the very last minute. The part of the floor he was standing on suddenly began to slide slowly towards the wall. He quickly made a dash forward, as Jenrya performed a running leap and clear the gap and the sliding floor panel in one jump.  
    Jenrya turned back round and saw that the soldiers couldn't follow.  
"Takato, we've got to go back and help them!" he shouted at the brown-haired youth, who was already quite a ways down the corridor.  
    "No, forget about us, kid!" shouted one of the soldiers. "We can handle ourselves. You just carry on! Stop them from upgrading DAEMON! Go!"  
    "Hey, where do you think you're going?" asked MegaGargomon from Jenrya's D-Tector. The Digimon had been digivolved the night before to ensure that he could handle anything that Hypnos threw at him. "Aren't you going to help them?"  
    "They're right, MegaGargomon," he told his Digimon. "I can't do anything to help them. I might as well carry on." Jenrya suddenly passed the stationary Takato, grabbing him by the arm. "Come on!" he cried, dragging Takato along with him before the brown-haired youth could protest at his action.  
    The floor in front of them suddenly began to open up, widening the gap between them and the part of the corridor in front of them.  
    "This reminds me of Takeshi's Castle," stated Takato, as he thought about the show which was like a platformer videogame turned game show. He took a couple step backs and then ran full tilt at the widening gap. At the last moment, he leapt with all his might, clearing the gap. He landed on the other side and turned round to see Jenrya leap over with the same grace. "So, any idea where to from here?"  
    "Ruki!" exclaimed Jenrya in sudden realisation.  
    In all the tumultous confusion, they had completely forgotten about her. Takato, especially.  
    "Quick, over here!" called out a feminine voice that they recognised instantly.  
    Ruki was standing on the other side of the corridor, next to an elevator. She was all alone, having been separated from the soldier that had accompanied her by the moving floors and opening walls.  
"Hurry!" she called out and then gestured towards the ceiling, pointing towards a wall that was descending downwards.  
    There was no need to tell them twice. They ran... no, they sprinted towards Ruki, knowing that if they didn't hurry, they'd be sealed out of the base. With no space suits, that would be a very fatal end to their mission. Yet the wall was closing down quite quickly and the individual metallic panels that made up the floor were sliding away to reveal the rapidly enlarging abyss below.  
    The wall was now quite low, low enough for Takato to bang his head if he tried walking underneath it.  
    Jenrya leapt on to the last piece of stable ground before the wall and then leapt. He missed and nearly fell down the gap, had he not grabbed the edge of the floor on which Ruki stood. Quickly, he pulled himself up and scrambled back on to solid ground.  
"Come on," he called out to Takato. "Jump!"  
    Takato looked around him. The part of the floor he was on was sliding backwards, taking him further and further away from Jenrya and Ruki.  
"All right," he muttered to himself, as he braced himself. "Here goes." He stepped back and then he rushed forwards, leaping into the air. Takato missed.  
    Jenrya and Ruki lunged forwards and grabbed Takato's arms. Together, they attempted pulling him back on to the solid floor, as the wall slowly descended. With one final tug, they pulled and Takato slid right underneath the wall, just before it slammed shut.  
    Ruki's breath was shallow, as she lay on the metallic floor.  
    "That was a close one," panted Takato, who was exhausted from leaping gaps and struggling to get to Ruki. "Why don't we just lie here for a while and catch our breaths, before we go up?" he suggested.  
    "No," panted Jenrya, as he got back up to his feet. "We've got a mission to do." He then walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. "Oh, no!" he cried. "Don't say it's locked!"  
    "I've been trying to get it open for quite some time now, but Sakuyamon can't do it alone," stated Ruki calmly. "I need your help, all of you. With three Digimon, I'm sure we can get this thing working."  
    Takato stood up and pulled his D-Tector out from his pocket.  
"Okay, then, let's do it," he said sternly. "Gallantmon.EXE. Log in!"

* * * * *

    Three data streams transported Gallantmon, Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon inside the elevator's computer. (Remember, due to size restrictions, MegaGargomon can only slightly larger than Gallantmon and Sakuyamon. Any Digimon that was larger became too large to be able to manoeuvre through the Digital World properly). They landed on the ground gracefully and looked around them. It was just like the rest of HypnosNet with its floors made out of metallic grilles and with a black screensaver with the Hypnos symbol floating in it.  
    "Right, here's the deal," said Sakuyamon sternly. "There are three different paths, each with several switches. For us to progress, we each must take a path and turn on the switches in a set pattern. If we don't, we won't be able to get to the control panel."  
    "That's right," stated Ruki in agreement. "Now, you've got to listen carefully to our instructions. Only activate a switch when we tell you to. Right, Sakuyamon, you take the blue path. MegaGargomon, green. Gallantmon, red. Sakuyamon, you go first. Go right up to the first yellow glowing orb."  
    Sakuyamon nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Right, Ruki," she agreed and ran up to the path up to the first glowing sphere, which was one of the switches. She stepped through the sphere.  
    In response, the path in front of her suddenly disappeared and two paths appeared in front of Gallantmon and MegaGargomon. One was red. The second one was green. Viruses suddenly came charging at them from the two paths and hurtled at them.  
    Two of them were a Brain.F Virus, a virus that looked like a black brain. The other two were a Bumble.250 Virus and a Bumble.251 Virus, both of which looked like bumble bees. The 250 Version was yellow and dark blue, while the 251 Version was dark yellow and black. They were all electric-style viruses.  
    "Right, I'm loading your wood-style," announced Takato. "DigiModify– Wood Digivolution activate!"  
    Gallantmon's cape became green and his armour took on a slightly green shade to it. Even the little Guilmon head on the top of his helmet became green. His special attacks became Bamboo Sword and Leaf Shield, the latter of which was actually a defensive manoeuvre more than an attack.  
    "Wait a minute, aren't electric viruses supposed to be weak to earth-styles and not wood-styles?" asked Gallantmon curiously.  
    "Hey, close enough," was Takato's reply.  
    The Bumble.250 suddenly flew straight at him, its stinger aimed at Gallantmon. The knight Digimon ducked underneath it and as it passed over head, he raised his sword and sliced the Bumble.250 virus in half. It burst apart into bits of digital data, as he stood up and then rushed straight towards the other Bumble Virus.  
    One of the Brain.F Viruses crackled violently with electricity and smashed on to the floor, sending shockwaves running through the floor.  
    MegaGargomon leapt over it and dived down at the Brain.F Virus, kicking out at it. He landed on top of the Brain.F with such force that he deleted it instantly. He then turned his attention to the other Brain.F which was spinning wildly towards him, its tentacle-like neurones flailing round and round like whips.  
"Oh, so you want to play, huh?" he exclaimed. "Well, try this! Gargo Missile!" He fired two missiles straight at the Brain.F Virus, striking it and deleting it in mere seconds. "Easy!"  
    It dropped a data packet. He bent down and picked it up and found that it contained an Elecwave DMD. That would be useful later on. MegaGargomon turned to face Gallantmon and watched as the knight Digimon sliced the Bumble.251 in half and reducing it to bits of digital data.  
    "Good work, guys," praised Takato. "Okay, so who goes next?"  
    "I would have thought it was obvious," stated Jenrya. "It's the only other path with the a switch on it, the green path. MegaGargomon, go up to it."  
    The armoured Digimon nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Righto," he agreed and ran up straight to the switch. He placed a hand through it and activated it. "Whoa!" he cried, as his floor shook and broke apart from the platform that Gallantmon was on. He turned back round and saw that his path was moving forwards. "Hey, where is this crazy thing going?"  
    "Relax," said Ruki calmly. "It's just moving forward, that's all."  
    "Okay, Gallantmon, your turn," said Takato, as he noticed a switch had appeared on the red path.  
    Gallantmon didn't need anymore persuasion. He went up to the switch and stepped through it. A new path appeared in front of him. It was yellow and had a yellow switch on it.  
"Sakuyamon," he said to her, but suddenly realised what had happened. Her path had suddenly been isolated, like MegaGargomon's had. "Hm, guess it's up to me." He ran ahead and activated the next switch.  
    At that point, MegaGargomon's path joined up with Sakuyamon's.  
    "Man, this is some complicated network," sighed Takato.  
    "You're telling me," said Jenrya. "Come on, guys! Pick up the pace!"  
    A few more switches later and a narrow path appeared, connecting up the now straight and singular path to the platform on which the console panel lay.  
    "That looks pretty narrow," said MegaGargomon, as he looked down at it. "I don't think I can travel across it."  
    "Nor can I," sighed Sakuyamon with a shake of her head.  
    "Now what?" asked Jenrya.  
    "You know, I didn't get this far," admitted Ruki.  
    Gallantmon suddenly remembered what program Dr. Merzuno had installed in him.  
"Takato, do I still have the DataPress Program installed?" he asked his Operator.  
    "Yep!"  
    A smile sprad across Gallantmon's face. He ran forward and shrank to fit on the narrow path. As soon as he stepped off the narrow path, he expanded back to his normal size.  
"Okay, I'm through!" he announced. "Tell me what to do and I'll..."  
    A data stream suddenly appeared and struck the floor in front of him. When the light subsided, it revealed Uranekimon. There was a smug smile on her face as she stood in front of Gallantmon with her arms crossed.  
"I'm afraid that I cannot let you go any further," said Uranekimon, as another data stream appeared and transported someone beside her.  
    "Reiko?" exclaimed all three Digimon and all three of their Operators at once.  
    Reiko smiled, as she brushed her hair back. She glowed with a silver aura unlike Dr. Merzuno had.  
"No, my name is actually Reiley," she announced. "I am Dr. Yamaki's assistant. I have always been Dr. Yamaki's assistant." She then gestured to her Digimon. "And this is Arukenimon, my Digimon. Arukenimon, show them your true form."  
    Arukenimon nodded.  
"With pleasure, Ms. Reiley," agreed the Digimon with a nod of her head. She then changed. Her hat and her sunglasses disappeared. Her arms elongated and the bottom of her body became that of a red spider with eight spidery legs.  
    "And now, let us try the BioMergance technique," suggested Reiley, as she extended her hand sideways. Her Digimon did the same.  
    Gallantmon watched as the two slowly slid together and merged into one. In the end, Arukenimon didn't look any different, but she was far more powerful. He could sense it.  
    "Brace yourself, Gallantmon," said Takato. "Looks as if we're going to have a fight on our hands."

**_To be continued..._**


	18. File 17: Hitotsu no Kimochi

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.

* * * * *

File 17: Hitotsu no Kimochi – (_One Feeling_)  
    "Spirit Needle!" Arukenimon leapt into the air and threw a few strands of hair through the air.  
    They were like darts, lethal ones. Each one flew through the air with lightning speed and struck into the ground with such force that they nearly went halfway through.  
    Luckily, Gallantmon had avoided them. He charged straight at Arukenimon wordlessly and swung his sword at her, only for her to clap her hands together on the blade and stop it from slicing her in half. The knight Digimon struggled against Arukenimon, whom had the strength of two people.  
"Let go!" he cried.  
    "If you insist," laughed Arukenimon, as she swung the sword around with Gallantmon still holding on to it. She then let go, sending him flying through the air and landing painfully back on to the ground. "You are a pathetic fool, to think that you can defeat Lord Yamaki's plans. He will unleash the Great DAEMON on to the Digital World and in doing so, he will destroy it all! The Digital Society will fall to its knees and burn to the ground!"  
    Arukenimon thrust her right hand forwards.  
"Spider Thread!" she cried, as she spewed out a thread of sticky webbing straight at Gallantmon.  
    The knight Digimon whirled out of the way, leaping up to his feet. He glared at her through his visor and tried to think up of a battle strategy he could use against her.  
    "You think you're so hot?" cried Takato all of a sudden. "Well, Reiley, try this for size! DigiModify– Curse of Queen activate! DigiModify– Poison Ivy activate! DigiModify– Poison Powder activate!" The DMDs merged into the bizarre and rare Combo known only as EverCurse.  
    Gallantmon's right hand turned purple and began to give off purple smoke. He touched the ground with it and a huge patch of purple spread out away from him. The purple floor gave off a hideous choking gas, which decreased HP like nobody's business.  
    "Oh, whoops!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden. "Uh, Gallantmon, I forgot to activate a Repair DMD."  
    "You did?" exclaimed Gallantmon nervously. Without the Repair DMD to create a small patch of normal floor, a sanctuary within the poison, he would be affected as well. "Oh, that ain't good."  
    Arukenimon was staggering around and coughing, as she tried her best to wave the poison away.  
"You fool," she laughed at him between hacking coughs, "this will work to my advantage!" She leapt up into the air and then threw a couple of Spirit Needles at Gallantmon.  
    "Oh, no you don't!" cried Gallantmon, as he raised his Leaf Shield. The needles struck it and were absorbed. The Shield then replenished some of his HP. "Every attack you send at me will be absorbed by this shield," announced Gallantmon. "And every time it absorbs an attack, it replenishes my health!" He then leapt straight at her and swung his Bamboo Sword at her. It went through thin air.  
    The spider Digimon reappeared behind Gallantmon and breathed out a fine mist of acid on to his back. It melted away at his armour and knocked 100HP straight off his health. Arukenimon laughed and then stuck some web on him. Using it as a sort of rope, she swung him round her and flung him through the air again. She watched him land with a painful thud and then flung a few more Spirit Needles straight at the knight Digimon.  
    Gallantmon raised his Leaf Shield just in time, blocking the attack.

* * * * *

    "What in Sam Hill's name is going on here?" cried the General, as he rushed into the control room.  
    The soldier he was addressing did not even turn to face the General. He was frantically messing around with the controls in front of him.  
"Sir, someone has hacked into the entire system," he replied. "We've lost control of all our robot tanks and flying units. Our men have been locked out of the research labs and..." He trailed off, his eyes widening.  
    "And what?" shouted the General. "Spit it out, soldier!"  
    Sweat was dripping down the soldier's face. Never had he experienced such a terrible event, for he was quite young and had only been a kid when OOKAMI had gone beserk.  
"The missile silos are opening up, sir," came the soldier's nervous reply. "Someone's started off a countdown sequence."  
    The General went incredibly pale. This was exactly like the time OOKAMI had gone beserk.  
    "The system's frozen up, sir," continued the soldier wretchedly. "We can't do a thing to stop it."  
    "Where are those missiles aimed at, what type are they and how many are we talking about?" asked the General concernedly, yet he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew.  
    "Nuclear, sir. All of them, sir," came the reply from the soldier, before he told the General where they were being aimed.  
    A horrible feeling swept over the General, as he realised that he was right. The missiles were being aimed haphazardly, and seeing as the number of nuclear missiles had not decreased since the late 20th Century, there were still enough to destroy the entire Earth and the Orbital Space Ring.  
"This ain't good," he said, perhaps winning himself the award for _Biggest Understatement of the Year_.  
    There wasn't a single thing to do. All military equipment and attack vehicles were connected up to the computer system. If it was frozen, then there was nothing they could do, except pray for the best.  
    "How long have we got left?" asked the General.  
    "Thirty minutes and counting, sir," came the reply.  


    Dr. Lee looked at the screen with a solemn look on his face.  
"It's no use," he sighed frustratedly. "The D-Bugs are spreading no matter what we do." It seemed to him that every time they deleted a D-Bug, two more showed up to take its place.  
    He was referring to the red, blob like virus that Sakuyamon had fought in the computer of the flame-thrower tank. The Officials had dubbed it D-Bug, as they knew the thing was a part of the decoded DAEMON. Luckily, it wasn't the actual DAEMON Program but a mere miniature copy and was hence far easier to get rid of than DAEMON.  
    His D-Tector started to ring. He flipped the lid open, pressed the phone button and raised it to his ear.  
"Dr. Lee, speaking," he announced and listened carefully. On the other end was a hysterical military spokesperson and he was telling him about the situation down on the Earth. "But the Anti-Meteorite Cannons are on the far-side of the Orbital Space Ring," protested Dr. Lee. "We can't shoot down the missiles, if they're Earth-side."  
    This was worrying. If the D-Bugs could get to the nuclear missiles, then that meant that DAEMON must have evolved. The original DAEMON couldn't have possibly penetrated into a secure network. Yamaki must have added some code from the Juggernaut Virus.  
    "The only thing we can do is to try and delete the D-Bugs that are infecting the system," stated Dr. Lee calmly. "They're very blob like. You'll recognise them when you see them. Be sure to hit them quick and hit them hard, as they heal any damage they receive." He paused a while to listen to the military spokesperson. "Yes, it would be best for you to delete them with one blow. That would be the safest strategy. Okay then. Keep in touch."  
    Dr. Lee lowered his D-Tector and looked at the screen. He sighed.  
"If we don't stop these things soon, there won't be a world for us to save."  


    "This is the Officials," announced the voice from the loudspeaker, as the van moved along the streets. "Everyone is to log out of the Digital World. I repeat, everyone is required to log out of the Digital World. All Digimon, all Programs, must be pulled out of the Digital World for your own safety. Turn off as many electronics equipment as you can. I repeat, turn off as many electronics equipment as you can."  
    Mrs. Matsuda looked out of the window of her home at the empty streets, as her husband turned off the television set behind her. Her hands were clasped together, as she looked out at the deserted streets with a look of pure worry on her face. She remained silent, as she watched the Officials' van move slowly down the street, announcing their message to everyone.  
    "Yoshi, dear, come away from the window and sit down," suggested her husband. "Yoshi."  
    "Oh, Takehiro, what are we going to do?" sobbed Mrs. Matsuda, as she placed her arms on the window sill to steady herself. "Our little boy is out there. He's out there all alone and who knows what trouble he might be in." Tears streamed down from her eyes and dripped on to the carpeted floor.  
    Her husband went up to her, holding on to her gently and reassuringly.  
"Yoshi, you must calm down," stated Mr. Matsuda. "Our Takato has been through a lot. He'll pull through. If anyone can, our Takato can." He then tried his best to guide her to the sofa. "Besides, he's not alone. He's got his friends with him. They'll look after each other and they'll all come back in one piece, just you wait and see." Mr. Matsuda then gently made her sit down. "Now, you just sit down, dear. Don't you worry. Things'll be okay. They'll be okay."  
    Yet he was not even sure whether he believed his own words or not. He was not sure whether they'd all pull through this time round.

* * * * *

    "DigiModify– Sanctuary Panel activate!" announced Takato.  
    A glowing panel suddenly appeared within the midst of the poisonous floor. Gallantmon quickly stepped on it, the only place he could be safe from the poison he had spread across it. Now he was on it, he would only take half damage from all of Arukenimon's attacks.  
    "I've had enough of this!" cried Arukenimon angrily. She leapt straight up into the and came hurtling back down. The spider Digimon slammed her fist into the ground and it cracked. The purple mist disappeared, as did the Sanctuary Panel. "Now taste my wrath! Acid Mist!" Her acidic attack hit Gallantmon, melting away at his armour. "Now perish!" shrieked Arukenimon, as she lunged straight at Gallantmon.  
    Gallantmon took off his green cape and flung it at Arukenimon's face, obscuring her vision. He side-stepped her and swung his Bamboo Sword straight at his opponent, slicing into her digital data. To his surprise, she popped and air flew out of her and she crumpled on to the floor like a deflated balloon.  
    By the time Gallantmon realised what had happened, it was too late. Arukenimon had already thrown her Spirit Needles down at Gallantmon and they had smashed into his armour, piercing into him and reducing his HP by 100 for each needle.  
    Arukenimon laughed, as she landed back on the ground.  
"This is classic," she cackled. "I don't believe that you fell for the Anti-Damage trick, but you did!" She had a pleased smile on her face, as she looked at him. "Now let's see if you can handle this!" Arukenimon spread her arms out and split into three copies. "One of us is the real one, but which one is it?"  
    "Takato?" cried Gallantmon in the hope that his Operator would help. "Some help here, please!"  
    "Takato, what are you waiting for?" asked Jenrya angrily. "You have the makings for a decent Combo right there."  
    "I do?" exclaimed Takato curiously.  
    "Give that D-Tector to me!" cried Jenrya. angrily. "Now, let's see, how did it go again? Ah, yes! DigiModify– Beserk Sword activate! DigiModify– Shogun Sword activate! DigiModify– Trump Sword activate! DigiModify– Duality activate!" The three DMDs then merged into one, the powerful DeuxHero Combo. "DigiModify– DeuxHero activate!"  
    Gallantmon split into two copies, which swung their swords in front of them frantically. In doing so, they swent wave after wave of energy at all the different Arukenimon copies. Only one was affected, however, and she screeched in pain as wave after wave of energy hit her.  
    "I don't know why I didn't see that," said Takato, as he watched Gallantmon attack.  
    The second copy of Gallantmon then disappeared.  
"So, how do you like that, huh?" asked Gallantmon, as he bent down and picked up his green cape. He flung it behind him and attached it to his armour. "It's no good if you go and underestimate your opponent, Arukenimon. I may not be that smart, but when it comes down to the crunch, I can do just as well."  
    Arukenimon brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes, as she glared furiously at her opponent.  
"So, you think that you've won the battle?" she asked Gallantmon. She laughed and if one listened carefully, they could just pick up a hint of insanity in her voice. "I don't think so. D-Bugs come aid me!" She flung her arms down and two blob-like viruses appeared.  
    "Hey, that's the virus Sakuyamon fought in the tank!" exclaimed Ruki in sudden realisation.  
    "These D-Bugs are not viruses," commented Arukenimon. "They are a part of DAEMON! Now go! Absorb! Absorb!"  
    One of the blob-like D-Bugs leapt through the air and attached itself to Gallantmon's head. To him, it felt as if the thing was trying to devour him whole.  
"Get off!" cried Gallantmon, as he clawed at the gelatinous body of the D-Bug. "Get off of me!" He did his best to shake it off, but it held on too tightly, as if its survival depended on feeding off of him.  
    The second D-Bug leapt at Gallantmon, but didn't land on his head. Rather it landed right in front of Gallantmon, creating a strange green and blue hole there. It crawled back.  
    "Oh, where's a Burner DMD when you need one?" exclaimed Takato angrily, as he tried searching his inventory for a weapon to use against the D-Bugs.  
    Arukenimon laughed, as she plucked a few strands of hair from her head. She held them tightly, as they straightened and became sharp.  
"Now it's time for you to be deleted!" she laughed. "Spirit Needle!" Arukenimon flung her Spirit Needles straight at Gallantmon.  
    This was his chance. Takato could see it.  
"Gallantmon!" he called out to his Digimon. "Bend over now!"  
    The Digimon did so and put the D-Bug in the line of fire. Arukenimon's Spirit Needles all stabbed into the D-Bug and seconds later, it broke apart into bits of digital data that dispersed and disappeared.  
"Ah, that's much better," he exclaimed. He then turned and saw the other D-Bug leap straight at him. Gallantmon bent over backwards and the D-Bug missed.  
    "That trick's starting to get old!" cried Gallantmon, as he whirled round and sliced the D-Bug in half with his Bamboo Sword, deleting it in the process. He turned to face Arukenimon. "Now it's your turn, Arukenimon," he told her.  
    Arukenimon began backing off. There was a worried look on her face. It was fearful. She was frightened.  
"You fool!" she shouted at him. "Even if you delete me, you will never be able to stop Lord Yamaki. He will unleash DAEMON and you can kiss your digital butts goodbye!" Her right hand turned into a gigantic sword that glowed so brightly. "Now, delete!" she screamed, as she charged straight at him.  
    Gallantmon charged straight at her and they swung their swords straight at each other. There was a clash, as they rushed past each other. They stopped on either side, their backs to the other. Both remained motionless. Both remained as still as statues. Silence filled the air, suffocating all that watched. Silence and stillness. Nothing stirred. Nothing made a sound. It was blindingly still and deafening silent.  
    Seconds later, it was apparent to all who had won. One fell. One stood. One was deleted. The other remained standing and intact.

**_To be continued..._**


	19. File 18: Chigau Boku ga Iru

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

Author's Note: If at this point in the story you think that DAEMON is a Digimon, then you are mistaken. In the Digimon.EXE Universe, DAEMON is not and has never been a Digimon.  
P.S. On another note, the last three chapters will be delayed until a midi version of the Final Boss Battle Theme from Megaman Battle Network 3 has been sequenced. There will be no more updates henceforth until that midi has been sequenced, properly.

* * * * *

File 18: Chigau Boku ga Iru – (_There's Another Me_)  
    Gallantmon charged straight at her and they swung their swords straight at each other. There was a clash, as they rushed past each other. They stopped on either side, their backs to the other. Both remained motionless. Both remained as still as statues. Silence filled the air, suffocating all that watched. Silence and stillness. Nothing stirred. Nothing made a sound. It was blindingly still and deafening silent. One fell. One was deleted. One remained standing. One was victorious.

* * * * *

    Yamaki looked up at the glass sphere, his back turned to the entrance of the great hall he stood in.  
"It's finally completed," he said with a smug smile on his face. He turned round to his desk and switched off the laptop. "Soon, my dreams shall be fulfilled." Yamaki turned and walked up the steps to the Biofeedback Chair installed into the gigantic machine behind him, in which DAEMON was now stored. "Digipocalypse shall befall the world and the Digital Society shall finally be destroyed!"  
    There was a loud bang, as of doors being flung open violently.  
    "I don't think so, Yamaki."  
    There were many things that Yamaki hated. There was the beeping of the D-Tectors and of computers. There was the Digital Society itself, all those people using the Digital World that his rival had invented. There were the Officials, whom had rejected his ideas for BioEmerging. Yet only one thing made him even more angry than all of those things put together.  
    "So, you've arrived," stated Yamaki through clenched teeth, as he turned round to face Takato and friends. "So, Matsuda, have you come to stop me again?" He laughed, his entire body shaking from manic laughter, and the roar of his laughter echoing all around them. "Who do you think you are to come here and prevent DAEMON's Awakening? DAEMON is far older than you are, children. It has seen many things that you wouldn't be able to dream of."  
    Though sunglasses hid his eyes, it was apparent from the look on his face that he had indeed gone clearly off the deep end, even more so than last time.  
"When DAEMON is awakened, he shall spread across the Digital World and devour everything!" chortled Yamaki. "He will eat it all up! Delete! Ha, ha, ha! Delete! He will delete it all!"  
    "Not if we have anything to say about it," retorted Jenrya. "We're going to log in our Digimon and delete DAEMON, just like we did with your Juggernaut Virus."  
    A smug smile spread across Yamaki's face, as he stood there in front of his Biofeedback Chair.  
"Oh, will you really?" exclaimed Yamaki in surprise. "Tell me, children. How will you do that? Look around you. Do you see any Log In Ports? Do you see anything that you can connect your blasted D-Tectors to?" He sat down in the Biofeedback Chair. "There is nothing you can do to stop me now, children. Nothing." Yamaki lowered the Biofeedback Headset over his head. "Digiport open! Jack in!"  
    "You won't get away with this, Yamaki!" shouted Takato, but it was too late. Yamaki would not listen and could not listen.  
    "What are we going to do?" wondered Jenrya. "If we can't log in, then how can we delete DAEMON?"  
    Ruki looked carefully around her. She could see that the laptop was not connected to the machine in which Yamaki was using, but the Biofeedback Headsets were.  
"We could go ourselves," she said, as she made her way to a chair.  
    "Are you nuts?" cried Jenrya, as he ran after her. "We can't do that!" He thought about how Dr. Merzuno had nearly died using that machine. One of the things he didn't want was to end up the same way. "It can't be safe, surely?" He watched as she sat down in the machine and looked around her. "Hey, are you listening?" Jen turned round and saw that Takato had taken a seat himself. "Takato!"  
    "Ruki's right," said Takato, as he watched Ruki slot her D-Tector into the arm of her chair. "This is the only we can stop Yamaki. I only hope that Beelzemon isn't with him." He pressed a few buttons on his D-Tector, returning Gallantmon to his original settings and then looked around and saw a slot for himself. Takato put his D-Tector into it.  
    "They're right, Jenrya," said MegaGargomon from his D-Tector. "It's the only way."  
    Jenrya sighed.  
"Et tu, MegaGargomon?" he asked his Digimon. He looked at the other two and then sighed. "Oh, all right." He sat down in one chair and connected his D-Tector, before lowering the Headset and connecting himself. "Digiport open! Jack in!"

* * * * *

    Takato looked around, as he glowed with a slightly red aura. He was in the Digital World and it looked so strange. The sky was black with the Hypnos symbol floating in it and he stood on something... sticky.  
"What is this stuff?" he wondered out loud, as he looked down at the floor. It was red, purple and gel-like. It reminded him of... "This looks like the stuff that D-Bug was made out of."  
    "Yeah," agreed Gallantmon with a nod of his head, as he looked around him. "It's pretty disgusting."  
    "Is that an eye?" exclaimed Ruki, as she pointed down at the floor. She herself glowed with a slightly blue aura.  
    It took two more seconds for Takato to suddenly realise that he was standing right next to his Digimon. Though he technically wasn't physically there, the Biofeedback Headset made it seem as if he really was down to the minutest detail.  
"Wow, it's so good to see you like this, face to face," he told his Digimon. "Man, I never would have thought we'd see each other like this. You look better in real life than you do on the screen of a D-Tector."  
    Something was wrong. Where had he heard those words from and why did they sound so familiar?  
    "It's nice to see you like this too," agreed Gallantmon with a nod of his helmet-clad head.  
    Two data streams suddenly appeared and brought Jenrya and MegaGargomon to the Digital World.  
    Ruki smiled, as she crossed her arms.  
"It's about time you got here, Jenrya," she told the dark-haired youth. "So, shall we get moving?"  
    "Let's," agreed Jenrya with a nod of his head, "but first, we've got to Biomerge like Arukenimon and Reiley did."  
    Takato smiled. That seemed pretty cool. Now he would be even closer to his Digimon, to his former brother, than he ever would have been in real life.  
"Okay, Gallantmon, let's do this," he said to his Digimon. "Biomerge activate!" Seconds later, he found himself actually inside his Digimon, looking through Gallantmon's eyes. "Wow, this is amazing!" His voice sounded like Guilmon and his own, both speaking at the same time.  
    "There's no time for all that," stated MegaGargomon sternly. His voice sounded like a combination of Jenrya's and Terriermon's. "We've got to get going. If this is DAEMON, then we'd better stop Yamaki before he awakens this thing."  


    Already, three of the four Seals on DAEMON had been destroyed and absorbed by Beelzemon. There was only one left, the seal of the Red Phoenix.  
    Yamaki stood back with a grin on his face. He knew what would happen next when the last seal was destroyed. It would be the awakening of the Great Beast, DAEMON.  
"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Yamaki impatiently. "Go ahead and destroy the last seal. Absorb its powers and you shall become the most powerful being in the entire Digital World... no, scratch that. You'll become the most powerful being ever!"  
    Beelzemon turned to face the old man. He suspected something and he smelt a rat.  
"And why should you care?" asked the Digimon. "Don't you know what my dreams are? They're to destroy the human race. What with you being a human, I would have thought you'd not want that."  
    Yamaki laughed at Beelzemon's comment.  
"I don't care what happens to the human race, as long as my dreams of destroying the Digital Society are fulfilled," was his reply to Beelzemon. "Now do you or do you not want to become stronger?"  
    "Stop!" cried out Gallantmon, as he ran ahead of the others. "Don't you dare destroy that Seal!"  
    "Do it!" cried Yamaki. "Do it now or they'll absorb it for you!"  
    Beelzemon agreed with Dr. Yamaki on that point. If he did not absorb the power of the last Seal, then they would and he didn't want that. He lashed out with his sharp claws and smashed the seal, before absorbing its digital data into his body. Beelzemon floated back off the floor, laughing as he did so.  
"Yes! Yes!" he cried. "I can feel it! The Power of the Four Seals flow within me. Now I have enough power to destroy all those that get in my way and their own worlds if I have to!" He laughed out insanely, as black wings spread out from his back.  
    The red goo on the floor began to beat like a living heart, but no one noticed.  
    The powerful Digimon then looked down on the three that stood in front of him.  
"Now behold my true power, you pitiful fools," announced Beelzemon with a great flourish. He laughed out loud, as he brought out his two guns, aiming it at Gallantmon. "Let's play." Beelzemon then opened fire.  
    All three Digimon ran out of the way, the bullets crashing against the reddened floor.  
    MegaGargomon leapt up at Beelzemon and lashed out with his fist. He hit Beelzemon's UltraBarrier but was unable to penetrate it. The Digimon saw Beelzemon whirl round and aim at him. Two bullets hit him in the chest and MegaGargomon fell down to the ground.  
    Beelzemon put away his guns and then dived down at MegaGargomon, lashing out at the Digimon with his claws. His attack was blocked suddenly by Gallantmon's round shield. He roared out angrily and kicked out at the shield with such force that it sent Gallantmon flying backwards. The black, leather-clad Digimon then drew a pentagram in the air with one clawed finger, leaving a red trail of energy in his finger's wake.  
    He grinned toothily, as he then placed his hands against the symbol.  
"Oh, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you," he told Gallantmon. "Here, why don't you have this Corona Blaster?" His hands glowed a brilliant red and a beam of red energy flew out from the symbol he drew.  
    Gallantmon grabbed MegaGargomon, slinging his arm over his shoulder, before he leapt out of the way.  
    The Corona Blaster struck the ground, breaking a hole straight through it and DAEMON. Moments later, the red goop that made up DAEMON flowed back and healed the hole.  
    Gallantmon and MegaGargomon landed beside Sakuyamon. She created a protective forcefield around her, hoping that Beelzemon wasn't powerful enough to crack it.  
    Beelzemon laughed at them. It seemed absurd that such Digimon, who were clearly weaker than him, should continue fighting against him.  
"Is that the best you can do?" he asked them. The Digimon was clearly enjoying this. "You've gotta be kidding me!" He laughed, as he lashed out at Sakuyamon's forcefield and cracked it with one blow. "You shouldn't even be here fighting against me. You pitiful weaklings! All of you should be destroyed along with your human Operators!"  
    "Come on, let's attack him together!" suggested Gallantmon, as he leapt at Beelzemon. The others followed suit.  
    "Amethyst Wind!"  
    "Lightning Joust!"  
    "Mega Missile!"  
    To Sakuyamon's surprise, her Amethyst Wind blew away Beelzemon's UltraBarrier in an instant. That meant Gallantmon's attack and MegaGargomon's attack went past the forcefield and struck Beelzemon unhindered.  
"All right!" she exclaimed, as she heard a scream from Beelzemon.  
    When the smoke from the attacks cleared, it was apparant that Beelzemon had sustained quite some damage but it still looked as if he was capable of taking a million more direct hits before he would fall. There was an angry look on his face, though. He couldn't have believed it. No other Digimon, with the exception of one of the Four Guardians, had been able to break his UltraBarrier. Even that had been a close fight and the Guardian had nearly been deleted.  
    "How is this possible?" called out Beelzemon in disbelief. "Before, you couldn't even break my UltraBarrier without using a Combo, but now!" He couldn't understand it. "Well, even if you are stronger now, you won't be able to defeat me! I am the strongest Digimon ever created and none can defeat me! Corona Blaster!"  
    The three Digimon scattered, dodging the Corona Blaster attack.  
    Gallantmon leapt towards Beelzemon and thrust his lance straight at the black-clad Digimon. He hit Beelzemon and swung again. This time, he missed as Beelzemon floated back. He raised his shield quickly, blocking Beelzemon fist.  
    "Enough is enough!" cried Beelzemon, as he whipped his two guns out. "Multiple Impact!" He opened fire, shooting bullets and sending them flying at each Digimon.  
    One of the bullets hit MegaGargomon in the head, catching him off balance. He fell and crashed straight into the floor.  
"Ew!" exclaimed MegaGargomon, as he got up. "This stuff is nasty!" He was suddenly hit in the back by Beelzemon's claws and a roundhouse kick in the head suddenly sent the Digimon flying back. MegaGargomon crashed landed to the ground.  
    "Come on, MegaGargomon!" called out Jenrya from within him. "You can do better than that. Here, follow my lead."  
    "How?" asked MegaGargomon, but was suddenly surprised as he leapt up to his feet without even trying. He suddenly realised that Jenrya was in control of his body. "Jen, do you think it's wise for you to...?" he began, but was cut off when he suddenly charged straight at Beelzemon.  
    MegaGargomon leapt in the air and performed a roundhouse kick of his own that connected with Beelzemon's chest and sent him flying backwards. He then flew straight at his opponent and flung a few punches, which were blocked by Beelzemon's arms. When Beelzemon lashed out at him, MegaGargomon grabbed Beelzemon by the wrist and used Beelzemon's own momentum to throw the Digimon over his shoulder.  
    Beelzemon did not land on the floor. He merely floated above it and stood up. The Digimon watched as MegaGargomon flung a punch at him, but it never reached his face. His UltraBarrier had returned. He laughed and then opened fire on MegaGargomon, firing bullet after bullet into the Digimon's armoured chest.  
    "Amethyst Wind!"  
    Sakuyamon watched as her special technique blew Beelzemon's UltraBarrier away for a second time.  
"Hey, Beelzemon!" she shouted at him, getting his attention, before she launched her Spirit Strike against him. It was a direct hit! "Now!" she called out to Gallantmon.  
    "Shield of the Just!"  
    "Spirit Strike!"  
    Their two attacks flew through the air and struck Beelzemon directly in the chest, sending him flying backwards.  
    Beelzemon couldn't understand how they had become so powerful in such a short space of time. Granted, their attacks were more powerful than he had anticipated, but he still had a few tricks under his sleeves. He smiled toothily, as he raised his arm into the air. His fist began to glow brightly.  
"You think you can come here, toss a few attacks and be done with it?" he laughed at them, as he charged up for a powerful attack. "I don't think so! Multiple Impact!" He spread his arms out and sent several bolts of energy flying outwards from him in a highly unpredictable pattern.  
    Yamaki smiled and clapped his hands slowly.  
    "It's not over yet."  
    Beelzemon and Yamaki turned round and saw Gallantmon staggering back to his feet.  
    "What?" exclaimed Beelzemon in disbelief. "You survived that?"  
    Gallantmon smiled, not that Beelzemon would have seen it underneath his helmet. Takato smiled too.  
"Yeah," he replied, sounding like himself and Takato all in one. "Not only that, we're going to kick your digital butt, Beelzemon." He pointed his lance straight at his opponent. "You ready for it?"  
    Beelzemon smiled.  
"Yeah," he replied, "I'm ready."

**_To be continued..._**


	20. File 19: My Tomorrow

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. _Digimon.EXE 3_ is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.  
P.S. I've decided against delaying the chapters, so you'll be seeing them appear very soon.

* * * * *

File 19: My Tomorrow  
    Beelzemon spun round and pulled out two guns, before opening fire on Gallantmon. His bullets hit Gallantmon's shield instead of hitting the Digimon himself. Beelzemon roared angrily and flew across the floor towards the knight Digimon. He punched at Gallantmon and lashed at the Digimon, hitting the knight Digimon every time and denting and scratching Gallantmon's armour.     Gallantmon thrust his lance straight at Beelzemon, only for the black-clad Digimon to leap over his attack and perform a roundhouse kick that sent Gallantmon flying backwards again.  
    Beelzemon glowed. His UltraBarrier had regenerated itself again.  
"Now, let's see you attack me now!" he laughed, as he rushed straight at Gallantmon and slammed his fist down into the knight Digimon, knocking off a huge amount of HP from Gallantmon's health. "Have a taste of my Corona Blaster!"     At the last minute, Gallantmon whirled out of the way and leapt to his feet. He raised his shield. The Digimon and his Operator heard Beelzemon laugh and then dive to attack them. That was the plan.  
"Shield of the Just!" he cried out, as his shield began to glow brightly. A beam of pure white energy flew out from its surface and straight at Beelzemon.     Much to Gallantmon's surprise, Beelzemon flew out of the way of his attack. The knight Digimon looked around him to see where his opponent went.     Guns were suddenly aimed at Gallantmon's head and the triggers were pulled. The knight Digimon somersaulted backwards, the bullets clattering against the floor where he had been standing moments earlier. With lightning quick speed, Gallantmon whirled round and launched his Lightning Joust attack against his leather-clad opponent. It did nothing against Beelzemon's UltraBarrier.     "Amethyst Wind!"     "What?" exclaimed Beelzemon in surprise, as his UltraBarrier was suddenly blown away. "Ah, you!" he exclaimed, as he pointed at Sakuyamon. He grinned and then he laughed. "Yeah, I'll enjoy deleting you, foxy. Corona Bl...!" Beelzemon was suddenly hit by a huge bolt of electricity before he could even launch his attack against Sakuyamon. The shock of it stunned him, paralysing him with rage.     "Gargo Missile!"     Two missiles hit Beelzemon and exploded.     When the smoke cleared, it was clear that the attack had done more damage to Beelzemon's clothes than to the Digimon himself. He didn't look very pleased with them.  
"You think that I'll be that easy to defeat without my UltraBarrier?" he asked rhetorically. "Think again!" He aimed his two black guns straight at two of the Digimon and opened fire, laughing as he did so.     Bullets smashed into each Digimon, wounding them and denting their armour.     Gallantmon whipped off his cape and twisted the fabric until it was like a whip. He lashed out at Beelzemon, ensnaring one of the weapons and pulled it out of Beelzemon's grasp. The Digimon saw Beelzemon turn to fire at him. Bullets hurtled at his head. Gallantmon raised his shield, blocking their blow.  
"Shield of the Just!" roared Gallantmon, before firing a huge beam of white energy from the surface of his shield.     Beelzemon floated out of the way and drew another pentagram in the air.  
"Is that the best you can do, tin-head?" insulted Beelzemon, as he fired a crimson beam of red energy down at Gallantmon. He smiled as the beam of energy hit the knight Digimon, blasting Gallantmon backwards. "Now for the final blow!" he laughed out loud, as he flew down towards Gallantmon and lashed out with a fist. He missed, smashing into the floor and cracking it.     The leather-clad Digimon whirled round quickly and aimed his gun at Gallantmon, as the knight Digimon swung his lance at Beelzemon. Their two weapons clashed together. They strained against each other's weapon, pushing gun against lance and lance against gun. With all their might, they swung their arms around, both weapons doing full circle.     A gun flew through the air and clattered on to the floor, skidding away from the two fighting Digimon.     Beelzemon cried out angrily, as he raised his right fist into the air. It began to glow and it was apparent that he was going to attempt his Multpile Impact attack once again.     "Spirit Strike!"     "Mega Missile!"     None of the attacks hit Beelzemon. He floated sideways, letting them whistle past only inches away from his head. A smile spread across his face.  
"Ha! You pathetic weaklings!" he roared loudly. "Multiple Impact!" The black leather-clad Digimon sent thousands of orbs of energy flying through the air, in a terrifying rain of destruction that hurtled towards his opponents without mercy.  
    Gallantmon raised his shield, only for the energy to smash into it and knock it out of his hands. He watched as the circular shield went flying. Seconds later, an energy sphere hit the ground right in front of him, tearing the ground and flinging him back a great distance. He landed with a thud on the gelatinous floor, face upwards.  
    "This is far too easy," chuckled Beelzemon, as he floated over towards Gallantmon. "You know, I thought that you'd give me a much better fight than that. Guess I was wrong, huh?" He laughed. "Time for deletion, puny Digimon." With one claw he drew a symbol in the air. "Corona Blaster!"  
    A pure beam of red energy flew through the air and hurtled at Gallantmon.  
    There was nothing else for it. Gallantmon only had one other choice. He raised his lance and let rip with a powerful blast of electricity that leapt from the tip of his weapon. The energy of his attack struck against the Corona Blaster, pulsing against Beelzemon's energy attack, but it was far too strong. Gallantmon could feel the red beam of energy pulsing against his, ready to surge forward and engulf him in pure energy and thus, delete him.  
    At the last minute, Gallantmon rolled away, letting the Corona Blaster rip into the ground and tear a gaping hole in it. His eyes caught something in front of him, shining as the day it was first made.  
"My shield!" he exclaimed, before he quickly lunged for it, grabbing it.  
    An idea formed in Gallantmon's mind. Perhaps this was the time for him to try out a new technique. He leapt to his feet, whirling round to face Beelzemon. He flung his circular shield at Beelzemon, as if it was a frisbee.  
    With a huge sweep of his leather-clad arms, Beelzemon swiped the shield away.  
"You think that that can...?" he began, only to trail off when he realised that Gallantmon was no longer in front of him. "Huh? What?" He whirled round, just in time to see a metallic foot hurtle towards him.  
    "No way!" protested MegaGargomon, as he saw that Beelzemon didn't even flinch. "That would have flattened any Digimon's face."  
    "Let me take you for a spin," chortled Beelzemon, as he grabbed Gallantmon's leg and then spun round, whirling the knight Digimon around like a ball on a string.  
    "Uh... I think I'm gonna hurl," moaned Takato.  
    Despite feeling dizzier than a dog chasing his tail on one of those centrifuge-like rides at the fair, Gallantmon was still able to collect his thoughts. He aimed his lance at his opponent and charged it up, before letting rip with the most powerful blast of electrical energy that he could muster.  
    Beelzemon let go seconds before.  
    Gallantmon was sent flying into Sakuyamon, knocking her over on to the gelatinous red floor. The two of them collapsed into a digital pile of tangled arms and legs.  
    "This sure is a real laugh," stated Beelzemon, as he turned to face MegaGargomon. "Why don't you join your friends, peon?"  
    An angry expression had spread across MegaGargomon's face, as he faced Beelzemon. Within him and Jenrya, whom was BioMerged with him, there was a pent-up fury. It was a righteous fury, indignant, a rage and burning desire for justice. It was just the right kind of misdirected emotion that could cost him his life.  
    "Mega Barrage!"  
    The air was suddenly filled with missiles. Yet none of them would hit Beelzemon, even though he floated very still. Each one hit the renewed UltraBarrier that now surrounded him once more, and when the smoke cleared, it became apparent that MegaGargomon didn't stand a chance.  
    "DigiModify— WarGreymon's Terra Force activate!"  
    MegaGargomon raised his arms and a glowing orange sphere built up between the palms of his hands, growing in size. Not only did it grow in size, but also power. Surely, this attack would be enough to bring Beelzemon's UltraBarrier down again.  
"Ha, now let's see you stand up to this!" laughed MegaGargomon triumphantly. With all his might, he flung the powerful sphere of energy straight at Beelzemon.  
    It went past his left ear.  
    Gallantmon ran for it and leapt up into the air. With one swing of his lance, he batted the orange sphere back towards Beelzemon.  
    There was suddenly a huge explosion, which sent smoke and dust flying into the air, obscuring all vision and making breathe difficult.  
    When the smoke cleared, it was suddenly clear what had happened. The UltraBarrier was down. Beelzemon was suddenly exposed to their attacks. The three Digimon quickly leapt in to the offensive, lunging straight at Beelzemon, completely forgetting that although he was defenceless, he was still powerful enough to delete them all with one movement of his hands.  
    "You really think you can beat me?" roared Beelzemon, as he flew up and away from the three Digimon. "Fools! I'll tear you apart before you can even think about victory!" He brought out his two guns and then aimed at them. "Eat lead!" Beelzemon pulled the triggers, firing bullet after bullet straight at the three Digimon.  
    Sakuyamon spread her arms out, creating a forcefield around them.  
"It's no use," she sighed, as the bullets bounced off her forcefield. "He's far too strong. I don't know how much longer it'll take before we can defeat him." She certainly hoped that it wouldn't be long, after all, they still had DAEMON to contend with.  
    "Well, at least DAEMON hasn't woken yet," commented MegaGargomon, yet he didn't like the way the red goo was beating like a heart. "We've still got some time."  
    Yet Jenrya didn't feel the same way as his Digimon. He knew for sure that the battle against Beelzemon was taking its toll on them. In what shape would they be in once DAEMON did awaken and would the three of them alone be able to defeat it? Those questions plagued his mind, yet he felt as if there was no point in asking them out loud and reminding the others of what they were really there for.  
    "We haven't used many DMDs yet," stated Takato suggestively.  
    "We can't," protested Jenrya. "We've got to save them for the battle against DAEMON."  
    "If we don't use any DMDs, we won't survive to fight against DAEMON," protested Ruki.  
    "Gallantmon, what do you think you're doing?"  
    The knight Digimon had leapt out of the safe haven created by Sakuyamon's forcefield and was running straight at Beelzemon. He didn't care anymore about strategy. All that mattered was to defeat Beelzemon before he deleted them all. They had to do it quickly. There was no telling when DAEMON would awaken, and if they were still battling Beelzemon when it did, then they would be in big trouble.  
    Gallantmon saw Beelzemon charge up another Corona Blaster attack. Well, this time, he would be ready for it.  
"DigiModify— Prism activate!" he cried out. A crystal prism appeared in his hands upon activating the DMD. He saw Beelzemon let rip with his powerful energy attack. That was it! Gallantmon lobbed the prism straight into the path of the red beam of energy and then dived to the floor, as it refracted Beelzemon's attack.  
    Red beams of energy were sent flying in all directions.  
    Yamaki flew himself down to the floor, covering his head. A look of pure fright had appeared on his face, when he saw one of the beams had burnt a hole in the ground only inches away from his face.  
"You fool!" cried Yamaki angrily. "You almost hit me with that blasted attack!" He did not notice the hole slowly shrinking, as DAEMON's red gelatinous mass covered the gap. "Be more careful, next time!"  
    "Shut up, old man," growled Beelzemon, as he turned his head to face Yamaki. "Remember, I'm not your lackey!" He brought out his guns and then aimed at Gallantmon. "What? Where'd he go?"  
    "Look up, you fool!" screamed Yamaki.  
    With a befuddled expression on his face, Beelzemon looked upwards, to see Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon floating above him. The puzzled look spread to an expression of pure rage. How dare they? Well, he would not let them get the better of him. He floated sideways, letting Sakuyamon's Spirit Strike and MegaGargomon's missiles smash into the section of the floor above which he had been floating only seconds earlier.  
"Nice try," laughed Beelzemon mockingly, before he turned his guns upwards and opened fire, sending a barrage of bullets hurtling up towards them.  
    "Yes, that's it!" cried out Yamaki, as he got up from the floor, brushing himself down. "Hit them with all you've got, Beelzemon! Show them no mercy!" Yet something registered in his mind as being wrong. He looked around him. "Now where'd that tin can of a Digimon get to?" he wondered out loud, as he continued to scan the horizon for any signs of Gallantmon. "He can't have just disappeared into thin air!"  
    Beelzemon suddenly started choking. For no apparent reason, he was choking. It felt as if someone was literally cutting off his air supply.  
    Seconds later, the DMD wore off and Gallantmon became visible again. He was there, his lance pressed against Beelzemon's neck.  
"Now drop those guns," he demanded sternly.  
    A smile spread across Beelzemon's face.  
"No," he managed to choke out, before he grabbed Gallantmon by the shoulders and hurled the Digimon over himself. He breathed in deeply, the smile on his face widening, now that Gallantmon was on the floor in front of him. "So, you're playing dirty now, eh?" He chuckled. "See how corruptable you are with a human Operator? That's why all humans have to go! Corona Blaster!"  
    "No!" cried Sakuyamon in horror, as she saw the red beam of energy fly straight at Gallantmon and strike him. She recoiled in horror. "Gallantmon... Takato..."  
    Yamaki whooped with joy. Now he was finally free of the Matsuda kid, he could go about destroying the Internet-centric world his rival, Dr. Gennai Lee had created. He would destroy the Digital World without anymore interference and get rid of the Lee Family as well.  
    "Now! Hit him with all you've got!"  
    Both Beelzemon and Yamaki turned round, to see Gallantmon standing there intact.  
    "Impossible!" cried Beelzemon in disbelief.  
    "Gargo Missile!"  
    "Spirit Strike!"  
    "Shield of the Just!"  
    The three attacks spiralled towards Beelzemon, before the energy beams of the Spirit Strike and the Shield of the Just, entwined the missile in a double-helix fashion.  
    The attacks hit Beelzemon and exploded viciously. Though the force of the impact would have been enough to catapult a Digimon through the air, Beelzemon remained where he was. However, the attacks had done quite some considerable damage. He clutched at his left arm painfully, as he floated away from them with a look of disbelief on his face.  
"What? How is this possible?" exclaimed Beelzemon angrily. "You... you couldn't have possibly done that! It's not possible!" He couldn't understand it. He had absorbed so much data it was unbelievable. Not even the Guardian, Zhuqiaomon, could have defeated him that quickly. His fight against the Guardian had taken him two days and even then, Zhuqiaomon had barely been able to defeat him.     Yamaki sighed and shook his head.  
"How disappointing," he said calmly. "You know, I was hoping that you would all delete each other."     "What?" shouted Beelzemon angrily, as he whirled round to face the old man. "What are you saying, old man? That you've been using me? Is that it?" He felt so angry and so defiled.     "Fool! Digimon are only tools for human beings to use," Yamaki told the black-clad Digimon. "I knew that the only Digimon capable of destroying the Seals of the Four Guardians would be you, so I tricked Oikawa into trying to clone you, yet who would have known that the Matsuda boy would interfere. So I reckoned that using the original would be just as good." He chuckled at the thought of how he had persuaded Beelzemon to help him. "And now, thanks to you, DAEMON shall awaken and devour everything!" Yamaki laughed out insanely. "DAEMON, awaken! Awaken Great Beast and devour the Digital World whole!"     The entire Digital World suddenly shook violently, more so than it had done before. There was suddenly a terrifying roar, louder than the Juggernaut Virus' roar had been, louder than Malo2's had been, louder than OOKAMI's had been. Then there was silence.     The red slime that covered the floor suddenly rose upwards in a huge bubble and engulfed Beelzemon.     "No, you stupid beast!" cried Yamaki suddenly, as the red goop began to engulf him as well. "Not me as well!" He was suddenly covered by the red mass that was DAEMON before he was dragged underneath.     The three Digimon looked on at the empty space where Beelzemon and Yamaki had been. None of them had any real idea as of what had happened, but they knew what it entailed.     DAEMON had just woken and it was hungry.

**_To be continued..._**


	21. File 20: Mirai e no Message

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

Author's Note: If you haven't guessed by now, I based all the Final Bad Guys of the Digimon.EXE Series on the Final Bad Guys of the original Digimon Anime. So Juggernaut Virus looked like Apocalymon from Season 1, Malo2 looked like MaloMyotismon from Season 2... Can you guess what evil Season Three villain DAEMON is supposed to look like?

* * * * *

File 20: Mirai e no Message - (_Message to the Future_)  
    The entire Digital World began to shake again. A red mass began to rise and it took on the shape of a cloaked human. On its head was a golden mask with six eyes, three on either side, arranged in a circle. On either side of its head was a golden fan of metal. Emerging from its body were two metallic, robotic arms. Though it was red, it was also translucent, and they could see that somewhere in the middle of its body was a round sphere.     "So, this is DAEMON?" exclaimed Gallantmon in surprise.     "Yeah, that must be it," said MegaGargomon with a nod of his head.     "It's huge," announced Sakuyamon.     DAEMON began to bulge and grow until it was easily as large as the Juggernaut Virus had been. It looked to be ten times taller than them and its robotic arms grew along with it. The arms looked like the pincers on WarGreymon, although they had a chunkier look, and resembled missiles more than anything else.     A rocket booster on the end of both of its arms suddenly fired. One arm was propelled straight at them, and the other curved round and hurtled at them from the side. All three Digimon managed to dodge the two attacks.  
    Gallantmon aimed his lance at the prototype Internet and then fired. His Lightning Joust attack smashed against the monster's exterior. It only dented DAEMON's body and didn't do much to harm him.  
"What?" he exclaimed in surprise. "That didn't even scratch him!" The dent slowly disappeared, much to his dismay.     One of DAEMON's eyes suddenly glowed brightly and then a second and then a third. Soon, all six eyes glowed brightly. The mask opened up and a beam of white energy flew down and struck all three Digimon. DAEMON's robotic arms charged straight back towards the Digimon. One hit MegaGargomon and a second hit Sakuyamon. Only Gallantmon was unharmed by the robotic arms.     All three of them struck the ground heavily.  
    Without warning, red, gelatinous, translucent tentacles shot up from the DAEMON-covered ground. They curved in the air, like ropes being flung over a tall object, before lashing down towards the Digimon.  
    "Mega Barrage!" cried MegaGargomon, before shooting missiles straight up at the tentacles. He was surprised to see the tentacles ensnare the missiles and then pull them down into DAEMON's gelatinous body. "He's... he's absorbing them!"  
    "We've got to get off the ground! Now!" cried Sakuyamon, as she leapt up. "Gallantmon!"  
    The red tentacles were already ensnaring Gallantmon, wrapping around his neck, his limbs and his torso. They were snaking around him, probing at the metallic surface of his armour. They held his arms back, so that he was unable to use his lance to severe the tentacles that now held him tight. Then with a scream from Gallantmon, the tentacles burrowed into his digital body, merging him with DAEMON.  
    Within Gallantmon, Takato found himself unable to breathe. He himself felt as if the tentacles were restraining him, preventing him from taking control. They covered his mouth, so he was unable to call out to his Digimon, even though they were as one being. Slowly, his thoughts began to disappear into a fuzzy haze.  
    "Hey! Stop that!" protested Sakuyamon, as she flew down and swung her staff at the tentacles.  
    They loosened their grip on his limbs, all except the one that had burrowed its way into Gallantmon's head.  
    The knight Digimon turned his lance towards Sakuyamon. He then thrust it straight at Sakuyamon, only to miss as the golden armoured Digimon dodged it. Gallantmon swung his lance sideways in an attempt to cut her with the pointed edge of his lance, but missed again.  
    "Gallantmon, what are you doing?" cried Sakuyamon, as she floated away from him. "Please, don't do this!"  
    "Takato!" called out Ruki from Sakuyamon's body. "What do you think you're doing? Please, stop this! I don't want to fight you... not like this!"  
    MegaGargomon couldn't believe what was going on. He turned to face DAEMON's main body.  
"You," he cried, as he pointed a metallic finger at it. "You're not going to get away with this!" He fired a huge missile straight at DAEMON, only to see a missile emerge from DAEMON's body and hurtle straight at the one he fired. "No!" he cried in disbelief, as the two missiles hit each other and exploded, cancelling each other out. "I don't believe this!"  
    A needle suddenly emerged from DAEMON's main body, but it looked suspiciously like a lance. It crackled with electricity, before sending a bolt of lightning at MegaGargomon, electrifying his body. DAEMON then fired one of its robotic arms straight MegaGargomon. It flew through the air like a missile, before striking the Mega level Digimon, sending him crashing to the ground like a meteorite.  
    "No, MegaGargomon!" cried Sakuyamon, as she ducked underneath Gallantmon's lance. "Get up!" she cried out to the now unconsicous Digimon. "Get up!"  
    Unbeknownst to Sakuyamon, DAEMON had another trick up its proverbial sleeve. Two machine gun barrels appeared on either side of its head. They swivelled round to aim at her, before they opened fire, sending a stream of bullets hurtling straight at the Digimon.  
    With her keen vulpine sense of hearing, Sakuyamon heard the bullets as they left the machine gun barrel. Then again, any other Digimon could have, provided they weren't deaf. She leapt out of the way, before the bullets even hit her. Turning round, she saw the bullets bounce off of Gallantmon's raised shield. A thought suddenly occurred to her.  
"No! Not that!" she cried.  
    Gallantmon turned round, the surface of his shield glowing brightly. A beam of pure light suddenly flew from his shield with such force it sent air rushing against him, making his red cape billow out behind him. The ray of energy flew straight at Sakuyamon at lightning speed.  
    Sakuyamon only had a few seconds, but that was all she needed. She created a forcefield around her. The beam of energy hit the forcefield and threatened to bring it down. She strained, using all her energy to keep her forcefield to break, even though her every muscle felt weak. She had to hand it to DAEMON. This monstrosity was far quicker than the Juggernaut Virus and just as powerful, which made it far more deadly. Its abilities were far more advanced than the Juggernaut Virus and that was what troubled her.  
    Slowly, the energy beam subsided and Sakuyamon allowed herself to relax. It was then that a thought occurred to her. DAEMON was everywhere. She looked down and saw red gelatinous, translucent tentacles had sprouted up from the ground.  
"Ah, no!" she cried, as she saw that DAEMON had already began to absorb her. The red goo that made up its body was covering her bit by bit, millimetre by millimetre and was slowly drawing her into itself. "Stop it, you freak!"  
    No, it couldn't end this way. She wouldn't let it end this way. The entire Digital World was depending on them, and not just that, also the Real World. If DAEMON was allowed to succeed, the Real World would become a nuclear wasteland and she was not going to let that happen.  
    With a prayer on her lips, Sakuyamon took aim with her staff. She knew she had to be quick and her aim had to be true. Already, DAEMON's gelatinous mass was rising up her body, sucking her into it.  
"Please, oh spirits, guide this staff," she muttered to herself, before she threw it.  
    It flew through the air like a beam of golden light, before it landed on the floor, severing the tentacle that had ensnared its way into Gallantmon's head.  
    What was once a thoughtless, fuzzy haze, now began to take shape. The first thought— I am. More thoughts soon began to take and memories came back to life, bringing with them sensations, sights and smells. Takato's consciousness emerged, as did Gallantmon's. They soon became aware and gradually, all five senses were returned to them.  
    Sakuyamon! Gallantmon noticed that she was being drawn deeper into DAEMON's mass.  
"Take my hand!" called out Gallantmon, as he rushed straight towards her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of DAEMON's robotic arms lash out at him. He leapt back, narrowly avoiding being hurt by its pincers. "Sakuyamon!" he cried, as he saw the golden-clad Digimon disappearing into DAEMON. He rushed forward and tried to grab one of her arms, but it was far too late. "No!"  
    Gallantmon suddenly realised that MegaGargomon would also be in danger. He turned round, but where was he? MegaGargomon was nowhere to be found.  
"MegaGargomon," he screamed at the top of his voice. "No, not him as well." He turned his head to face DAEMON. He felt a fiery rage building up within him. How dare DAEMON take his friends away from him like that? How dare DAEMON try to destroy the world that he and his friends lived in?     "You're going to pay for that!" cried Gallantmon, as he rushed straight at DAEMON with his lance drawn. Tears streamed from his eyes, as he ran, not caring what happened to him.     DAEMON lashed out at Gallantmon, hitting the Digimon with one robotic arm and then another. It charged up and opened its mask up again, before firing another beam of energy down at the Digimon.

~ ± * ± ~

    'I feel as if I'm falling,' thought Jenrya, as he lay there with his eyes closed. 'Will someone catch me?'     "Jiangling," called out a voice. "Jiangling!"     Jenrya's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He looked around himself and found himself sitting in a room. It was quite an ordinary room, except that there were many computers sitting on the desks, many of which were joined up together. From the looks of them, the computers seemed incredibly old, antiquated even. How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was being devoured by DAEMON. Was this room inside DAEMON? Jenrya got up to his feet.     "Where are we?" asked MegaGargomon from beside Jenrya.     "I wish I knew," replied Jenrya, as he looked around him. It was then that he saw Ruki lying on the floor and Sakuyamon as well. He rushed over to them and knelt down beside Ruki, as MegaGargomon knelt down by Sakuyamon's side. "Ruki!" he called out to her. "Ruki, are you all right? Speak to me."     Slowly, she stirred and her eyes opened.  
"Jenrya?" she exclaimed in surprise. She had not expected to see him after being devoured by the Beast. "Jenrya, where are we? How did we get here?"     There was a laugh and it sounded quite old. They looked around them and soon saw an old man standing not too far away from them. He had quite a large nose and a white moustache. His head was quite bald, as he stood there with his arms crossed behind his back.  
"Welcome to my Lab," he greeted.     "Who are you?" asked Jenrya curiously.     The old man looked quite surprised at Jenrya's question.  
"What? Don't you recognise your own Grandfather?" asked the old man calmly. He then turned to face MegaGargomon. "Terriermon, you remember me, don't you? I was there with Jiangling's father when you were first created."     "Grandpa! I remember you now!" exclaimed MegaGargomon. "But I thought that you were... that you were..."     "Dead?" exclaimed the old man with a smile on his face. "Well, in a way, I guess I am."     Jenrya shook his head.  
"I don't understand it," he said out loud. "It doesn't make sense. How can you be my Grandfather, Dr. Gennai Lee? You died when I was just three years old."     "You can't be Dr. Gennai Lee," protested Ruki with a shake of her head.     "No, but he is," argued Sakuyamon. She too recognised the Father of all Digimon, even though he died before she was ever created. "That is Dr. Gennai Lee, I can sense it, somehow."     The old man smiled, as he sat down on a small office chair.  
"I bet you're wondering about all this," said Jenrya's Grandfather calmly. "Let me explain. You see, when DAEMON went beserk, eleven years ago, no one was able to stop it. No one, not even Dr. Oikawa, its creator, could destroy it. So Dr. Merzuno proposed to seal it away and it almost worked, had it not tried to escape."     "Were you the one who stopped it?" asked Jenrya.     Dr. Gennai Lee nodded his head in reply.  
"The Biofeedback Headsets which transported you here to the Digital World are my invention," explained Dr. Lee calmly, "although I see my colleague, Dr. Yamaki has improved on it somehow." He sighed and shook his head at the thought of Dr. Yamaki. "Oh, Mitsuo. Why can't you see that Digimon and humans can live together peacefully?" He sighed again. "Well, anyway, I used this Biofeedback Headset to enter the Digital World myself and stop it. I helped the Four Guardians, powerful Digimon that a colleague of mine created, to seal DAEMON away. The seals were not enough, though, so I left a part of me here to keep watch over DAEMON and make sure that DAEMON stayed dormant."     Jenrya understood now. He understood why no one had attempted to destroy DAEMON after they had sealed it away.  
"So, you've been inside DAEMON all this time?" asked Jenrya curiously. He worried. If they destroyed DAEMON, would they end up destroying his Grandfather as well? "Then, we can't destroy DAEMON."     "But you must!" protested his Grandfather. "You must, you simply must do it! Nothing can put DAEMON back in the Dark Ocean now. It's far too powerful." He swivelled round in his seat and opened a drawer, pulling out an envelope. "Jiangling, my Grandson, it was so nice to see you again for one last time. Here, take this. Give it to your father."     Ruki watched as Jenrya slowly went up to his Grandfather and took it from Dr. Gennai Lee. It pained her to think of what Jenrya was going through at that very moment. She feared what pains he would be feeling in his heart and soul.     "Now, let me take you out of here," said Dr. Gennai Lee. "You must leave here, so that you can help your friend, Takato."     Sakuyamon shook her head sadly.  
"I'm sorry, Grandfather," she apologised to Jenrya's Grandfather, "but I fear we are too weak to help Takato and Gallantmon."     "Nonsense!" protested Jenrya's Grandfather. "If you give him what remains of your power, Gallantmon might have the ability to be able to delete DAEMON. That is, however, only if you hurry. For you see, as long as DAEMON is awake, it will only get stronger, absorbing more and more of the Digital World and growing in strength as it does. Only if you hurry out of here, will your efforts not be in vain."     "Grandpa, if we destroy DAEMON, what will happen to you?" asked Jenrya, almost mournfully.     Dr. Gennai Lee shook his head sadly, as he sat down on a swivel chair.  
"You must not worry about me, Jiangling," he told Jenrya, calling him by his Chinese name. "I am an old man now. I have lived a full and long life. There is nothing for me to fear now. Do all your best to destroy DAEMON. Do not hesitate one bit or your world will die. That would bring me much sorrow, more so than not seeing you again."     "Now, quickly, let me take you out of here before it is too late!"

~ ± * ± ~

    Gallantmon got back up to his feet and looked up at DAEMON. He saw the thing breathe a huge jet of flames straight at him. The knight Digimon raised his shield and blocked the attack as best as he could, but he could still feel the heat of the flames as they struck the Chrome Digizoid of his shield.     The left robotic arm flew forwards and struck the shield. The force of the impact sent Gallantmon crashing to the ground. It returned to DAEMON's body. The right robotic arm flew at Gallantmon sideways.     The knight Digimon scrambled to his feet and leapt out of the way. Gallantmon turned round and charged again at DAEMON. He saw two machine gun barrels appear on either shoulder. He raised his shield, as DAEMON opened fire, letting the bullets bounce off its metallic exterior, as he rushed straight at his opponent.  
"You want to devour the world?" he shouted at DAEMON. "Well, eat this! Lightning Joust!" He fired a bolt of lightning at DAEMON, which dented its body. "Shield of the Just!"     A glow emanated from the exterior of his shield and soon a huge beam of white energy flew out and smashed into the exterior of DAEMON, pushing back its gelatinous body to reveal a sphere underneath it.     "Lightning Joust!"     The third attack hit the sphere, DAEMON's Kernel. A terrifying, bestial and inhuman screech of pain echoed all around them as the lightning bolt hit.     So that was DAEMON's weakness, was it? Gallantmon smiled. Yeah, he could defeat it now. He ran up DAEMON's side as quickly as he could and at the last minute, he jumped in an arc and landed in the indentation on DAEMON's body. Holding his lance firmly, he stabbed it into the Kernel.     With an elastic spring, DAEMON's red mass bulged outwards and propelled Gallantmon away from the kernel, before covering it and protecting it from harm. DAEMON roared angrily and lashed out with its robotic arms, hitting Gallantmon once, twice, three times, four times and two more times. It then opened fire with the machine guns poised on its shoulders, each bullet hitting Gallantmon's metallic armour.  
    He hit the ground with a heavy thud, which seemed to jar every bone and joint in his body. Gallantmon got up and saw tentacles spurt up from the ground. He slashed at them with his lance, as he leapt up from the ground. Aiming his lance down, he fired a bolt of electricity down at DAEMON, burning a hole in DAEMON to reveal the floor underneath.  
    From the gelatinous mass rose up three objects, which soon took on the shape of Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon. They clearly weren't the real deal, as both were as translucent as DAEMON itself.  
    "So, that's your game, is it?" growled Gallantmon angrily. "Well, let me tell you this! I won't be defeat by clones of my friends!" He rushed the two, not caring what would happen to him, as long as he could somehow defeat DAEMON. "You hear me? I won't be defeated by you!"

* * * * *

    Sirens wailed through the military base, as the soldiers did their best to unfreeze the system.     "How long left?" asked the military technician.     "Five minutes and counting," came the reply.     So, that was how long they had until the end of the world, was it? Five minutes until the world burned to the ground. The military technician smiled manically, as he continued sending DMDs to his Digimon in an attempt to delete the D-Bugs that had infected the entire system.  
"Five minutes, eh?" he chuckled. "Boys, unless Fate's feeling mighty generous today, you can kiss your butts goodbye."

**_To be continued..._**


	22. File 21: Negai Kanaeru Kagi

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

WARNING! May contain Alternative Universe situations and out-of-character experiences. Upon reading this, you hereby agree that you forfeit all your rights to sue me and that I cannot be held liable for any psychological or physical damage caused by the fact that I use British English spelling and that this fanfic contains NO graphic depictions of a heterosexual and homosexual nature. Digimon is copyrighted by Bandai and Toei Animation Ltd. Wolf O'Donnell is copyrighted by Nintendo Ltd, although that might have nothing to do with the fanfic. Digimon.EXE 3 is based on Rockman.EXE, which is copyrighted by Capcom Ltd. Constructive criticism is very welcome.  
P.S. Lyrics are from "What I'm Made Of" by "Crush 40".

* * * * *

File 21: Negai Kanaeru Kagi - (_The Key to Granting Wishes_)  
    Gallantmon leapt back, avoiding the missiles the MegaGargomon clone fired at him. It was clear to him that DAEMON was quite good at assimilating the attributes of whatever it absorbed. Well, it would take more than copying others attacks to defeat him. Gallantmon aimed his lance and then let rip with a bolt of electricity, which blew the head straight off the gelatinous MegaGargomon double.  
    The Sakuyamon clone leapt straight at him, thrusting the pointed end of its staff straight at Gallantmon.  
    He would have dodged, but this Sakuyamon clone was every bit as fast as the original. His armour cracked, as the staff went through and buried into his arm. Gallantmon winced in pain, gritting his teeth. He would not cry out. No, he would not. Not even when he lashed out and grabbed the Sakuyamon clone's gelatinous head with a hand. With a contraction of his fingers, he crushed its head and watched as the red mass splatter to the floor.  
    "That was easier than I thought," commented Gallantmon between gasps for air.  
    As if in response to his comment, more gelatinous clones of Sakuyamon and MegaGargomon appeared. There was a whole army of them and they looked as if they would be able to tear him apart in nanoseconds.  
    "DigiModify— Hyper Speed activate!"  
    The army of MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon clones rushed him. With the Hyper Speed DMD activated, Gallantmon leapt straight at them and started slashing away at them with his lance, tearing them up and sending red gelatinous debris flying through the air. He was like a self-propelled blender and was not going to rest until he had turned these clones into digital puree.  
    One of the clones broke into several tentacles that lashed out at Gallantmon like strands of rope. They wrapped around his neck, squeezing and trying to choke the life out of him, as more ensnared his arms and his legs and his torso and his head. The red gelatinous mass on the floor began to ripple and DAEMON oozed up the metallic armour, slowly engulfing Gallantmon's body bit by bit.  
    Two beams of light burst out of DAEMON, punching two holes through its body. DAEMON screeched in pain and shuddered, before collapsing to the ground, its entire mass splashing against the floor. The beams of light smashed through each of the clones, smashing them apart, before landing on the ground carefully beside him. They glowed and then took shape, as DAEMON rose back up from the floor, bubbling upwards like a geyser of water.  
    "You okay, Gallantmon, Takato?" asked Jenrya from within MegaGargomon.  
    Gallantmon moaned, as he turned.  
"Did someone get the serial number of that compression program?" groaned Gallantmon, as he tried to sit up. He blinked and then he saw MegaGargomon and then Sakuyamon. "Hey! You guys... but... how? How'd you escape?"  
    "Doesn't matter now," replied Sakuyamon, as she spread her arms and surrounded them with a forcefield. "There, that should keep DAEMON at bay for now." That was when DAEMON fired a beam from the middle of its head, which struck her forcefield. It cracked under the pressure. "Or maybe not." She turned to face Gallantmon and it was then that she realised what she had to do. "Gallantmon, I'm not strong enough to continue, but I can give you my strength before I log out. Perhaps it will be enough to shift you into your Grani-style."  
    DAEMON attacked again, but this time, Sakuyamon was ready for it. She braced herself and then attacked with her Amethyst Wind. It blew at DAEMON and although it did not seem to hurt it, her attack seemed to stun it at least and stop it in its tracks.  
    MegaGargomon remained silent for a while.  
"Yeah, it's the only way," he agreed with a nod of his head. "We're too weak right now, but if we give you our powers, you'll be able to defeat DAEMON for sure!"  
    "No, I couldn't possibly..." began Gallantmon in protest, but then he saw the determined look on their faces. Even within, Takato was saying that it was the only way. "Okay, then. If it's the only way to defeat DAEMON, then I guess I'll have to, won't I?" He sighed. "Okay, I'm ready."  
    Both MegaGargomon and Sakuyamon glowed with a brilliant light. MegaGargomon's was green and Sakuyamon's was blue. They became like spheres of light and divided into two. The spheres of light, blue and green, flew towards Gallantmon and merged with him, as MegaGargomon split up into Jenrya and Terriermon, and Sakuyamon split up into Ruki and Renamon. All four of them then logged out, disappearing in bright data streams.  
    "Good luck," Gallantmon heard Ruki say to him, followed by good luck wishes from the rest of them.  
    There was suddenly a brilliant flash of light and Gallantmon's cape became a pair of white wings. His armour turned red and he shifted into his Grani-style, the same style he had used to fight against the Juggernaut Virus and Malo2. He was twice as powerful now, maybe even four times as powerful.

    I don't care what you're thinking, as you turn to me.
    'Cause what I have in my two hands is enough to set me free! _(Set me free!)_
    I can fight the feelin' to resist it over time!
    But when it's just too much to take, you sneak up from behind!

    Gallantmon stood up on his feet.  
"You ready for this, Takato?" he asked his Operator, brother and friend.  
    From within, Takato smiled. Now he was truly one with Gallantmon a Digimon whom was his brother reborn in digital form. Together, they would be unstoppable. Not even DAEMON could withstand their power, surely.  
"Yeah," he replied with a nod of his head. "Let's go and kick his butt!"

    Is it me - you say! - you're looking for?!
    Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for! _(Here for!)_

    The red armoured Digimon began to glow with a brilliant white light, before taking off into the air and flying straight at DAEMON. Gallantmon, Grani-style, saw every attack coming. He dodged the robotic arms and each bullet that DAEMON fired at him.

    Try to reach inside of me!
    Try to drain my energy!
    Let me show you just **_WHAT - I'M - MADE - OF!_**
    Simple curiosity!
    Try to take a bite of me!
    Let me show you just **_WHAT - I'M - MADE - OF - NOW!_**

    Human and Digimon, joined together, wrapped up as one entity, flew straight at DAEMON dodging each of the monstrosity's attacks. Then with one final burst of speed and one battlecry, Gallantmon flew straight into DAEMON's gelatinous body, punching a hole straight through the red mass.  
    DAEMON wobbled and shrieked, as Gallantmon flew inside its body and then burst out from the top of its head. There was a terrifying shriek as DAEMON exploded, scattering bits of its red mass all over the place. Yet it was not over. The battle was far from over and Gallantmon, and Takato within him, knew that. The red mass that covered the floor began to bulge and DAEMON rose up again without a single scratch on its gelatinous body.  
    "So, back for more, huh?" taunted Gallantmon, as he turned round to face DAEMON.  
    A huge needle appeared and poked out of its body. A huge fiery inferno flew out from the needle and straight at Gallantmon. The Digimon flew around it, as he charged straight at DAEMON. The fire turned into a geyser of water, but this did not stop Gallantmon. It turned into a bolt of electricity that struck Gallantmon and shocked him.  
    Every muscle program within Gallantmon was suddenly paralysed from the shock. He couldn't move and it was costing him dearly. Already, he had less than five minutes to destroy DAEMON and thus save the Digital World. Being paralysed severely dampened his chances of victory over the prototype Internet program.  
    "Come on, Gallantmon!" cried Takato through the pain he was feeling. "We've got to do this! We've got to win!"

    Like a million faces, I've recognized them all.
    And one by one they've all become a number as they fall. _(As they fall!)_
    In the face of reason, oh, I can't take no more!
    One by one they've all become a black mark on the floor!

    Gallantmon suddenly glowed more brightly. His brilliant aura flared up like a flame, as he spread his arms.  
"Is that the best you've got!" taunted Gallantmon, before he fired a powerful beam of white energy straight at DAEMON, followed by another and another and five more.  
    Each beam of energy struck DAEMON's body, pushing back the gelatinous red mass in an attempt to reveal the Kernel underneath. One, two three, and after the fourth beam of energy, the Kernel was uncovered. The fifth to eighth beams of energy struck the Kernel one after another, elicitating a shriek of pain from DAEMON, making it thrash about in agony.  
    One of DAEMON's robotic arms flew straight at Gallantmon.  
    It missed, as Gallantmon flew around it. He flew towards DAEMON, building up more speed as he did. Speed was of the essence. He had to be fast enough to burst straight through DAEMON. The monster opened fire, sending a stream of bullets heading straight at him. Gallantmon dodged each one as quickly as the bullets themselves. He fired a beam of white energy as he flew, hitting one of the machine gun barrels and blowing it up.  
    "No way!" protested Takato, as he and Gallantmon saw the destroyed machine gun barrel reform.

    Is it me - you say! - you're looking for?!
    Let me show you who I am and what I have in store! _(In store!)_

    One of DAEMON's six eyes flashed on and then off. A second repeated that and then a third. The eyes began flashing one after another, before one eye remained on and then a second and so forth until all eyes glowed brightly. A split appeared down the middle of the golden mask and it slid apart in either direction. A huge beam of energy flew out from DAEMON's head and straight at Gallantmon.  
    Fortunately, Gallantmon saw it coming. He stopped and fired a powerful beam of energy straight at DAEMON's beam. Their two beams of energy smashed into each other and pulsed against the other, like two geyers of water aimed at each other. Yet one beam of energy was far more powerful than the other and it pulsed against the other, pushing it back. It suddenly surged forwards and Gallantmon had to fly out of its way.  
    With a battle cry, Gallantmon flew straight back at DAEMON. A robotic arm lashed out at him, but he swerved sideways. He inhaled sharply and then flew straight into DAEMON's gelatinous body. Seconds later, he burst out of DAEMON's head and its entire structural integrity collapsed.  
    Yet, it still wasn't over. Gallantmon flew upwards and watched as DAEMON rose up again from the floor fully intact and seemingly fully healed. He could sense that DAEMON had not healed, however. His new method of attack was working against the monstrosity.  
    DAEMON began to bubble and ripple. It bulged in the middle of its body, as if a cancerous mass was growing there. This cancerous growth began to change shape and took on the shape of Gardromon. The Gardromon-shaped mass aimed its arm at Gallantmon and fired a huge rocket towards the knight Digimon, before it shrank and returned to DAEMON's main body.  
    The rocket was not enough to stop Gallantmon. He swung his sword at the rocket at the last moment, slicing the missile in half.  
"You're next, DAEMON!" he cried out to the rogue program. Gallantmon cried out and then fired a beam of pure white energy straight at the monstrosity's red body. He was amazed to see a hole appear in DAEMON's body and that his attack went straight through the hole without harming DAEMON at all. "No way!"

    Try to reach inside of me!
    Try to drain my energy!
    Let me show you just **_WHAT - I'M - MADE - OF!_**
    Simple curiosity!
    Try to take a bite of me!
    Let me show you just **_WHAT - I'M - MADE - OF - NOW!_**

    A new bulge formed in DAEMON's body and this one took on the shape of a Kabuterimon. It fired a huge beam of electricity at Gallantmon, which was quick enough to strike the Digimon.  
    As the electricity paralysed Gallantmon's body, Takato realised something. Though he was one with Gallantmon and though he could feel the pain, the sting of the attack did not cloud his mind in agony. He could still think clearly. DAEMON was taking on the forms of Hypnos Digimon and using their attacks against him. Takato wasn't sure how it was doing it, but he knew what to expect now.  
    DAEMON fired his left arm straight at Gallantmon, its razor sharp pincers pointed straight at the knight Digimon. It hit the still paralysed Gallantmon and knocked him out of the way.  
    Red tentacles spurted up from the DAEMON-covered floor and lashed out at Gallantmon, ensnaring every part of his body. It pulled him down and towards DAEMON. The red mass enveloped Gallantmon, restricting his movements, washing over him like water over a heavy stone. He was drowning in the red mass, as it attempted to devour him like it had done to Beelzemon and Yamaki.  
    "No, I won't be your next meal!" shouted Gallantmon, as he struggled against DAEMON. "You hear me, DAEMON? I won't let you devour me or Takato!" He roared and began to glow more intensely than he had ever done in his life. His entire aura, his passion for life, his brotherly love for Takato, all of them flared up within him. Gallantmon screamed again and the air around him shimmered and erupted away from his body, pushing DAEMON's red mass backwards.

    You can take another life - long - try!
    You can take another _try!_

    Another bulge appeared in DAEMON's body. This one took the shape of Arukenimon and it leered hideously at the knight Digimon below it, before inhaling and breathing out an acidic mist down at Gallantmon.  
    The armoured Digimon flew straight upwards as quickly as he could before the mist could reach him. Though he was far more powerful than he had ever been in his entire life, he wasn't completely invincible. There was a limit to his power and if he didn't hurry, that limit would soon be gone.  
"You think that copying other Digimon's attacks will help you?" he shouted at DAEMON. "Well, guess what? It won't!" He fired a powerful beam of energy straight at the Arukenimon-shaped bulge in DAEMON's body and blasted it apart.  
    DAEMON sceamed in agony and writhed in pain. It turned its machine guns on Gallantmon and opened fire, spraying bullets in his general direction.  
    Gallantmon flew above and under the bullets. None of them hit him. He flew straight at DAEMON in the hope that he would be able to get another hit in. If he wounded DAEMON enough, its structural integrity would collapse completely and the program would end up being deleted. That was his hope and he needed to be quick, if he was to find out if he was correct about DAEMON.  
    The exterior of DAEMON's body began to bulge again and this time it took on the shape of Sandyanmamon. The bulge inhaled and then exhaled. Instead of the usual sand that usually erupted from Sandyanmamon, red tentacles erupted from the Sandyanmamon's mouth and hurtled straight at Gallantmon.  
    The Digimon drew his sword and swung it at the tentacles, as he flew straight at DAEMON. He sliced clean through each one unrelentlessly, before he aimed his sword point first at DAEMON and flew straight into the body with such force that he went straight through.  
    Once more, DAEMON's entire body exploded, sending red sludge flying all over. Once again, a bulge appeared in the red gelatinous mass on the floor and reformed DAEMON.  
    Gallantmon turned round to face the monstrosity.  
"Man, you just take a licking and keep on ticking, don't you?" he exclaimed, although he had a sneaking suspicion that it was Takato that said it and not him. He then saw a needle erupt from DAEMON's body. "Oh, you're trying that old trick, huh? Well, it won't work!" Gallantmon fired a powerful beam of energy down at DAEMON and it struck the needle, snapping it in two.  
    That was, however, only a decoy. DAEMON's mask split open and a powerful energy beam flew out of it and clipped Gallantmon's wings. He fell. It fired its robotic arms at Gallantmon. The left arm missed, but the right arm connected with Gallantmon and sent the knight Digimon flying into the ground.  
    The red mass once again tried to devour Gallantmon. It crept over his body and had the consistency of melted chocolate being poured into a vat. He tried his best to break free. Gallantmon struggled to get back to his feet, yet DAEMON's hold on him was terrible. It stuck to him like chewing gum on the sole of a shoe and clung on with a tenacity that the Digimon had never seen before.  
    Gallantmon looked up at DAEMON and then decided on an action.  
"Not this time, DAEMON," he said sternly, as he cupped his hands. "You're going down!" he roared, as he fired the largest, most powerful beam of energy he had ever produced in his life.

    Try to reach inside of me!
    Try to drain my energy!
    Let me show you just **_WHAT - I'M - MADE - OF!_**
    Simple curiosity!
    Try to take a bite of me!
    Let me show you just **_WHAT - I'M - MADE - OF - NOW!_**

    The beam surged forwards and smashed into DAEMON's body. It pulsed against the gelatinous mass and pushed back, nudging its way towards DAEMON's Kernel. The beam of energy struggled against the red mass, surging forwards in an unrelentless march. Suddenly, it broke through, piercing DAEMON, erupting out from the other side.  
    There was suddenly a shriek from the monstrous program, as its entire mass quivered like jello. Its pulsating grip on Gallantmon loosened.  
    The red mass that had been clinging on to Gallantmon, flowed off his body, sliding off his armour and dripping down to the floor. He tore free from the DAEMON-covered ground and flew straight up towards the huge hole in the creature.  
"This one's for the Digital World!" he cried out, as he flew straight through the hole and and at the exposed Kernel of DAEMON.

    Try to reach inside of me! _(Let me show you what I'm made of)_
    Try to drain my energy! _(Let me show you what I'm made of)_
    Let me show you just **_WHAT - I'M - MADE - OF- NOW!_**

    Seconds later, the hole closed around Gallantmon, engulfing the Digimon. It seemed as if the Digimon had lost. DAEMON had won against the Digital World's only saviour.  
    DAEMON shrieked again, as Gallantmon burst back out of the gelatinous mass that was the prototype Internet. Its Kernel shattered and then there was silence.  
    All this time, the red mass, which covered the floors and made up DAEMON's body, had been pulsing and beating like a living heart. It stopped. The entire thing stopped. The robotic arms, the machine gun barrel and the mask all cracked and shattered. DAEMON shuddered one last time before it collapsed and fell like water to the floor.  
    Gallantmon laughed.  
"We did it!" he cried. "Takato, we did it!"  
    "Yeah, we did!" agreed Takato joyfully.  
    Suddenly, the entire place began rumbling. Cracks suddenly appeared all over the sky. The Hypnos symbols which floated in it, stopped moving. The thing looked like a wallpaper more than a screensaver and bits of it were falling. It seemed that the entire Hypnos computer network was breaking apart.  
    "We've got to get out of here," suggested Takato. "Okay, log out!" Nothing happened. "Log out!"  
    "It's no use," protested Gallantmon. "We have to return to where we first logged in." He then turned tail and flew straight back to where they had first entered the computer network.  
    It wasn't easy as huge chunks of unidentifiable mass were falling from the sky and crashing into the floor at random intervals. Some parts of the floor gave way and collapsed completely, making it impossible for Gallantmon to fly over it. He dodged these skilfully, not relenting, not slowing down for anything.  
    The red mass on the floor began to twitch. Tentacles burst out from the red mass and suddenly enveloped Gallantmon. Each one grabbed on to him, wrapping around every part of his body and restricting his movements. They pulled him down and sucked him into the red mass, covering him completely and absorbing him.  
    Gallantmon struggled against DAEMON. He knew what was going on. DAEMON was incredibly weak now and was attempting to absorb his life energy, to absorb him and become strong enough to escape the collapsing computer system. In doing so, he would take away Gallantmon's life and more importantly, Takato's life.  
"No, it can't end this way!" he cried, as he raged against the red mass that enveloped him and covered him. "It just can't!"  
    "Try blasting our way out!" suggested Takato.  
    "No, I can't," sighed Gallantmon with a shake of his head. "I used up most of my energy in defeating DAEMON." He sighed again and then he realised something. "I'm sorry, Takato," he apologised to his Operator. "I have to do this."  
    Takato suddenly felt a lump form in his throat. This was beginning to seem very familiar.  
"Do what?" he asked fearfully.  
    "I'll self-destruct," replied Gallantmon calmly. "The energy'll be enough to blast you out of DAEMON and out of the Digital World." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Takato. Goodbye."  
    "Wait, no, don't do it!" protested Takato.  
    It was too late.

* * * * *

    "Takato!" cried a voice. "Takato!"  
    Slowly, Takato felt a shaking sensation. He opened his eyes and saw Jenrya shaking him. His eyes saw his surroundings and he suddenly knew that he was back in the Digital World.  
"Gallantmon!" exclaimed Takato all of a sudden. He reached out for his D-Tector and plucked it out of its port, before pressing a few buttons, opening up the lid and looking at the screen. "No..."  
    "Takato, we don't have time for this," protested Ruki sternly. "The entire base is falling apart. We've got to get out of here before the place blows up with us in it!"  
    Jenrya turned his head to look at the chair where Yamaki had once been. The old man was gone, perhaps, he had escaped, but Jenrya couldn't be sure.  
"Yeah, we'd better go," he agreed with a nod of his head. He then grabbed Takato's hand, while Ruki grabbed the other and hoisted Takato out of the chair. "Come on!"  
    "But we can't go back to the shuttle!" protested Takato.  
    "Yes we can," retorted Ruki, as she ran ahead of him, dragging him along with her.  
    In front of them was the shuttle, which someone had rammed through the wall of the space base. Perhaps that's why the place was falling to bits. Well, no matter. They got on quickly and the doors closed.  
    As the shuttle moved and slid out of the space base, Takato looked around him. He noticed that everyone was there, including the soldiers they had left behind. Even Reiley and the treacherous soldier were there. Only Gallantmon wasn't with them.  
    He neither felt the explosion of the Hypnos Base nor saw the brilliant flash. Sound cannot travel through space, so he couldn't have heard the explosion even if he tried. Yet he could not feel the results of the explosion, as metallic debris hit the shuttle, nor could he see the flash through the shuttle's windows.  
    All Takato could see and hear and feel and taste and smell was sorrow. His Digimon was no more.

**_To be continued..._**


	23. Epilogue

**Digimon.EXE 3**

**By Wolf O'Donnell**

Author's Note: Well, this is the end. I did plan a fourth installment, but I got horribly disinterested in the entire series, so I'm leaving it at three fanfics. If you enjoyed the Digimon.EXE Series, e-mail me for a complimentary Digimon.EXE Guide. It'll tell you about the history of the Digimon.EXE Universe, the rules, what the world is like and will even give you a preview of what Digimon.EXE 4 was supposed to be like. I hope you enjoyed the Digimon.EXE Series and hope you'll enjoy reading my other fanfics, and my original story work at .

* * * * *

Log Out!  
    Slowly, all three of his eyes opened. The leather-clad Digimon looked up and saw the kind of snow you get on television screens. Nothing but static. Slowly, he sat up and looked around him. He looked down at himself and saw black boots and black gloves that ended in clawed finger tips.  
    Where was he? Who was he? What was he? Why did he have black wings?  
    The Digimon could not answer these questions. His mind was a blank. The Digimon did not know anything about himself. He could not remember anything about himself nor where he had been or what he had done. Memories were fleeting, hidden in shadow and he could not grasp a single one. So, he staggered along the black path with lights set in it at intervals. So he floated along the path.  
    This would be a journey of discovery, a journey to find himself.

* * * * *

    Takato sighed, as he sat with his back to the dinosaur-shaped slide. He paid no attention to the kids that climbed up its ladder and slid down its smooth surface. It had been almost two months since the defeat of DAEMON and Hypnos, and every Friday, he would go to the slide and sit and think.  
    The slide had been Guilmon's favourite place. Though the Digimon couldn't ride on it, it was the DigiBattles he encountered right next to the slide that he remembered the most. After the fight against the Digimon, he would make friends with the Digimon. That was how Takato and Kai had become friends, because of the friendship between their two Digimon.  
    'Well, Guilmon, it's been two months now,' thought Takato quietly in the manner of a prayer. 'If only you could see me now, Guilmon. I do my homework and hand it in on time and ever since I bought an alarm clock, I haven't overslept.' He smiled, as he leaned back and looked upwards. 'I still haven't got a replacement D-Tector,' Takato continued to think. 'Yeah, it's made doing things pretty difficult in such a Internet-dependent world, but I'm doing fine. You see, Guilmon, I just can't bring myself round to replacing you, no matter how easier it'll make my life.'  
    That last thought made Takato think about what had happened when he had got back to the Orbital Space Ring. He bit his lower lip, as he thought about it. His friends had been very supportive and had been there for him whenever he needed it. 'You know Guilmon,' thought Takato, 'at first, I felt so alone when I realised that you had been deleted, that I would never see you again. I moped about all the time and even avoided seeing Ruki. Yet one day, they all came to see me and from that day on, I realised that with friends like them, I could never be truly alone.'  
    "So there you are!"  
    Takato turned round and saw Ruki looking down at him.  
"Oh, hi, Ruki," he greeted weakly.  
    Ruki sighed, as she shook her head.  
"What are you doing all alone out here?" she asked Takato. "Have you forgotten we're to meet the others at Agu Town?" She had a sneaking suspicion that Takato was 'talking' to Guilmon again and moping about.  
    "No, I haven't forgotten," replied Takato with a slow shake of his head. "I was just sitting out here. You know, Guilmon really liked this spot. Sometimes, we'd just sit around here, not saying a word to each other and just enjoying being next to one another. Sure, we'd say a few things to each other, but it was always... always..." He trailed off, not knowing what word could best describe those moments. "It was always special."  
    Takato then laughed and much of it was down to the expression on Ruki's face. She looked as if she was going to gag.  
"Okay, then, let's get going before the others think we forgot about them!" he cried, as he leapt to his feet. He then reached out for her hand. "So, shall we?"  
    "I don't know what makes you think I'd hold your hand after the way you've been acting the past month," said Ruki huffily, as she crossed her arms and turned her back to him.  
    "What?" exclaimed Takato in disbelief. "Oh, not again! Come on, Ruki, we break up and make up so many times none of our friends or family know when we're a couple!" He thought carefully about what his mother had said a few days ago. "In fact, my mother has completely given up trying to keep track of our relationship. She's trying to set me up with Juri."  
    "Well I'm not taking second place to a Digimon's ghost, Takato," stated Ruki sternly. "Sure, it was sad that you lost Guilmon, but you have to get over it sometime."  
    "But I have gotten over it!" protested Takato, as he attempted to get close to her. It was a lie, of course, he hadn't completely gotten over Guilmon's deletion, but he had to do something to preserve some of the happiness in his life. "You know I love you, Ruki," he said. "You're the only one for me and I won't let you be second to anyone."  
    One of Ruki's eyebrows rose upwards. Did she hear Takato correctly? She turned to face him.  
"Okay, who are you and what have you done to Takato?" she asked the brown-haired youth. The Takato she knew wouldn't have been so confident when it came to talking about love. He would have been stuttering and have said completely the wrong things even when he tried not to.  


    Jenrya looked boredly at the clock on the wall and then at Ryo and then at the fries they had bought. His gaze then wandered over to Juri, whom was trying her best to make an origami crane and then at Alice, whom was making a fort out of fries. He sighed.  
"They're arguing again," he said mysteriously, at which point the others nodded silently in agreement.  
    "Or perhaps Ruki's yelling at Takato again," suggested Juri, at which point the others nodded silently in agreement.  
    Ryo sighed.  
"Man, why can't those two just get along like Jenrya and me?" he wondered out loud, as he wrapped an arm around Jenrya and pulled the dark-haired youth close to him. "Those two are always together and not together and together again, it's as if they're... they're..." He trailed off and tried to think up of a good, non-insulting, non-offensive way to describe them. "...nuts!" He failed.  


    Ruki sneezed once. Takato sneezed once.  
    The equivalent Western phrase would be, 'My ears are burning'.  


    "Say, I got an idea," exclaimed Ryo all of a sudden. "Seeing as Ruki and Takato are taking such a long time to get here, why don't we..." He then leaned over to whisper in Jenrya's ear with a devious smile on his face, and as he continued whispering Jenrya's pupils got bigger and bigger and bigger, as his mouth dropped wide open.  
    Jenrya pulled away and then stared at Ryo incredulously.  
"No, way!" he protested loudly.  
    "Oh come on!" whined Ryo imploringly. "Please?" He gave Jenrya the best puppy dog eyes he could manage, which was enough to make anyone feel sorry for him. "Please, Jen?" he pleaded, his hands clasped together. Still no reply. "Oh, please? You've been making me wait for such a long time!"  
    "Yeah, if you've waited this long, I doubt that you can't wait even more," retorted Jenrya. "Now be a good boy and eat your fries." He turned away and then muttered something rude underneath his breath with a shake of his head.  


    There came a knocking at the door.  
    "We're closed!" called out Mr. Matsuda, as he walked out from behind. It was then that he saw who was at the door through the light that filtered out of the shop and into the street. He rushed over and unlocked the door, opening it wide open. "Tal, it's nice to see you!" he greeted Dr. Lee, his old school buddy. "Why, we haven't seen each other since that last reunion two years ago."  
    Dr. Lee nodded in agreement.  
"Yeah, it has been a long time," he agreed with Mr. Matsuda. "So, how is the business doing, Takehiro?" He listened and then nodded at certain intervals in agreement with some of the statements that his friend said.  
    "I suspect it's all got something to do with the DAEMON incident," said Mr. Matsuda in an attempt to explain the good business he'd been receiving of late. "You know, the people are buying up more DMDs to help protect their D-Tectors from virus infection, that sort of thing. How's work at the Officials?"  
    "Not bad," replied Dr. Lee. "We've been working around the clock, non-stop to ensure that nothing can do the same amount of damage that DAEMON did. I've been designing a number of special firewalls for the military, especially aggressive ones. Let me tell you this, there'll be no more viruses infecting military systems anymore." He paused for a while and then said thoughtfully, "Although I have no idea how the holes in their security could have appeared in the first place, although one of my colleagues is suggesting that OOKAMI caused them when the Program first went on the rampage."  
    "Oh and by the way," exclaimed Dr. Lee all of a sudden, as he delved into his pockets, "I've got your son's D-Tector here. Turns out that the note from my father, the one my son gave me, contained enough data to help me repair your son's D-Tector and restore Guilmon." He brought out Takato's D-Tector and handed it to Takehiro. "Where is he by the way?"  
    Takehiro smiled as he held Takato's D-Tector in his hands.  
"He's up in bed," replied Mr. Matsuda. There was a silent pause, as the smile disappeared from his lips. "Say, Tal, I've been wondering about something. You know how you guys never were able to find Dr. Yamaki?"  
    Dr. Lee nodded.  
"Yeah, we're still unable to find him," was Dr. Lee's reply.  
    "So, you think there's a chance he could still be out there?" asked Mr. Matsuda.  
    "There is a chance," replied Dr. Lee solemnly, "but I doubt that he'd be able to cause as much trouble as he did with DAEMON."  
    A smile spread back across Takehiro's face.  
"Thanks," he said to Dr. Lee. "My wife's been obsessing over what would happen if Hypnos ever made a come back," he said in the way of an explanation. "Telling her that will certainly put her at ease."  
    "Yes, well, I've got to get going," said Dr. Lee. "It's been a while since I've been home."  
    "I understand," said Takehiro with a nod of his head. "Thanks for taking the time to fix my son's D-Tector by the way."  
    "Oh, it was nothing," stated Dr. Lee with a smile on his face. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Takehiro."  
    "It was nice seeing you too," said Mr. Matsuda. "Perhaps we could go out for a drink sometime?"  
    "Yeah, that'd be nice."  
    Dr. Lee and Mr. Matsuda then bid farewell and Takehiro accompanied his friend out to the street where Dr. Lee's car awaited. They exchanged a few more words, before Dr. Lee soon drove off.  
    As Mr. Matsuda stood outside in the street, he smiled to himself. Tomorrow morning there was going to be one very surprised and happy teenager. He turned back and went back in, closing and locking the front door behind him. His thoughts soon turned to the Biofeedback Headsets that he was going to receive tomorrow. He'd have to stock them and put up adverts all over his shop. Perhaps Takato would be able to help out by getting Guilmon to post an ad on the InphyNet DigiSquare's Message Board.  
    Perhaps.  
    The future was uncertain, but one thing was for sure.  
    Guilmon was back.

* * * * *

    Generations ago, a meteorite struck the Earth and caused a great disaster that befell all those that lived on the planet. Countless died and the environment was wrecked beyond belief. It took several years and plenty of hard work to return the Earth to normal. To prevent further incidents, nations of the Earth banded together and built the Orbital Space Ring. It was a gigantic ring-shaped space station built around the Earth and designed to spot further meteorites and destroy them before they reach the planet.  
    With the expansion of technology that followed after, the Digital Age was created. Everyone now carries a portable exploration device called a D-Tector. This mobile phone-like devices act as advanced portable digital assistants. Using it, you can make phone calls, send and receive e-mails, keep a calendar, store data, shop online and check news from around the Earth Sphere (the Earth and the Space Ring). These D-Tectors have become so convenient and useful that they have become essential for everday life!  
    Every D-Tector has a program installed into it called a Digitally Integrated General Information Manager and Online Navigator or DIGIMON for short. By customing your D-Tector's Digimon program, you can give it a unique personality and even talk to it and befriend it.  
    Yet the Digital World or Internet, is a very dangerous place, filled with computer viruses. To protect their D-Tectors, people had begun installing DigiModify Chips– special chips encoded with battle programs called DigiModify Data or DMDs for short. When a DMD is installed, a D-Tector is then armed to fight off viruses and hackers in battles known simply as DigiBattles. It is such an important process, that is even taught in schools.  
    My name is Takato Matsuda and you have been reading my story. It's not just my story, though, it's the story of all the Digimon and the people that befriend them. This may be the end of this story, but it's certainly not the end of my adventures, of our adventures. I mean, there's the one time, Guilmon goes into the DarkNet and does battle against the Twelve Sentinels and the DarkKing and finds... Uh, but that's another story...  
    As long as there are people, there will be adventure in our world and in our own hearts. There'll be good times and there'll be bad times, but as long as we realise that we're not alone and that there are others out there just like us, we'll be able to overcome the bad times.  
    And when people realise that life is precious, that it's not worth destroying someone or their world just because they don't agree with your point of view, then there won't even be the bad times. Perhaps some day people will realise all that but until then, we must always strive towards creating a better world free from hatred and fear.  
    Man, that's deep! Ha, ha, ha! Bet Ruki won't even recognise that I said all that. Well, it's nice been talking to you. I hope we can see each other again. ^_^

**_The End._**


End file.
